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BEAUTIFUL SHELLS:
THEIR NATURE, STRUCTURE, AND USES
FAMILIARLY EXPLAINED;
WITH DIRECTIONS FOR
COLLECTING, CLEANING, AND ARRANGING THEM
GY. “EEE - CABINET;
DESCRIPTIONS OF
THE MOST REMARKABLE SPECIES,
AND OF THE CREATURES WHICH INHABIT THEN;
AND EXPLANATIONS OF
THE MEANINGS OF THEIR SCIENTIFIC NAMES,
AND OF
THE TERMS USED IN CONCHOLOGY.
BY BG. ap AMS,
Author of ‘‘Nests and Eggs of Familiar. British Birds,’ ‘Beautiful Butterflies,”
“Favorite Sony Birds,” ‘‘A Story of the Seasons,” §¢., §c.
ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS & COLOURED PLATES.
To i DON:
GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATERNOSTER ROW.
MM DCCC LY.
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IN TRO DUOTIO N:
WHAT ARE SHELLS?
Dr. Jounson gives us no less than eight different meanings for
the word Sueuy. First, he calls it ‘the hard covermg of any-
thing; the external crust.’ Second, ‘The covering of a testaceous
or erustaceous animal.’ And here we may stop, for this is just
the signification which has to do with our subject; so let us tum
the sentence imside out, and see what we cau make of it. We
all know what a covering is—an outer coat, a case, a protection
from injury, a husk, a crust. a—in short, a shell,—scydl, or scell,
as our Saxon forefathers called it; schaie, as the Germans now
term it. No Latin nor Greek here, but the good old Saxon
tongue, somewhat rough and rugged, perhaps, but stout and sturdy,
and honest and serviceable; a kind of language to stand wear and
tear, like a pair of hob-nailed shoes, wiih little polish, but useful,
yes, very useful! Well, we have got so far, now comes a hard
-word—Trs-Ta-cE-ovs, what can it mean? It is pronounced /es-ta-
shus, comes from the Latin tesfaceus—having a Sheil, and means
consisting of, or composed of shells; so we find that a tesiacean -
is a shell-fish, and testaceology is the science of shelis. Jobnson’s
second meaning of the word éestaceous is ‘Having continuous, not
jointed shells, opposed to crustaceous.’ So we find that some
naturalists call those testaceous fish, “whose strong aid thick sheils
are entire and of a piece, because those which are jomed, as ibe
lobsters, are crustaceous.”’
Now some of the true testacean have shells in more than one
er two pieces, and therefore this last explanation of the term is
rather calculated to mislead a learner; but we shall explain presently
wherein the difference consists between them, and the Crus-Ta-cE-
ous, or, as we pronounce it, krus-ta-shus, fish consists. Here is
another long word, it comes from the Latin crusta, a word oi
many meanings, all having reference to an outer coat or covering.
My readers know all about pie-crust, and have perhaps heard a
lv INTRODUCTION.
surly, snappish, peevish person called a crusty fellow; they will
now understand what is meant by a crustacean and crustaceology,
that part of Zoology which treats of crustaceous animals. They
constitute quite a large family, these ologies, and have a strange
way of twisting themselves about, and exchanging limbs and
features, so that one is puzzled at times to tell which is which.
But here we have fixed two of them, called Testaczotocy and
CrustTaceoLoey, twin brothers, and very much alike in their char-
acteristics. Let us have a good look at them, so that we may
know them again if we should lose sight of them for awhile.
Now we will spell over the name of the first—
CONCHOLOGY.
«
Why, it is changed already! Has this science of shells then
another name? Yes, and this isit, pronounced kong-kol-o-gy, and
derived from the Latin concha, which means properly a shell-fish
with two shells, joined by a hinge, as the oyster, the cockle, ete.
This present volume then is a work on Conchology, the subject
of it 1s Conchiferous, and whoever studies it will be doing some-
thing towards becoming a Conchologist.
So much for names and titles; but still we have the question
to answer, What are shells? In a learned work called a Cyclo-
pedia, we find it stated that “shell is the hard calcareous (that is
chalky) substance which protects, either partially or entirely, the
estaceous mollusks externally, or supports certain of them inter-
nally.” All this you will understand, except perhaps the word
‘mollusks;’ this is a term applied to soft-bodied animals, such as
shell-fish, snails, etc., about which we shall have more to say as
we proceed. By this we learn that a// shells are not external or
outer coverings, some are internal or inner supports for the soft,
jelly-like bodies to which they belong, thus performing the duty
of bones. An example of this is seen in the shell of the Cuttle
Fish, called by naturalists Sepia, a description of which will be
found further on in the book.
Shells are either Crystalline or Granular. Now look at those
two words, they almost explain their own meaning. Crystalline
shells are those which have more or less of clearness, transparency
as we say, so that if held against the light it shews through
them; they are sometimes called Porcellaneous shells, from their
resemblance in this respect to porcelain, or chinaware; the Common
Cowry, (Cyprea Tigris.) is a shell of this description.
Granular, or, as they are sometimes called, Concretionary shells,
are the most hard and compact; it is in these that the substance
if
INTRODUCTION. Vv
called nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is mostly found. One of the
commonest examples is the oyster shell; if broken across it will
be seen to consist of very thin plates, or lamine, as they are
termed, closely packed together. The thinner these lamine may
be the more lustrous and beautiful appears the lining of the shell;
that shifting play of colours which we call iridescent, from iris—
the rainbow, is then brightest and most noticeable. A very re-
markable substance is this mother-of-pearl; smooth, and shining,
and delicately-tinted. Who would expect to find such a beautiful
lining to the rugged, rough, dingy-looking oyster, or mussel shell?
Truly these mollusks, some of them, live in gorgeous palaces. And
the most curious part of the matter is that from the fluids or juices
of their own bodies, and from the chalky matter collected from
the water, they are enabled to secrete or deposit such wonderfully-
constructed habitations, which after all are little more than chalk.
Burn a heap of oyster shells, or any other testaceous coverings,
and you get lime the same as that produced by burning the
white lumps from the chalk-pit, which lumps, by the way, are
said to be composed wholly, or for the most part, of marine shells.
This we should eall cretaceous matter, from creta, which is the
Latin for chalk, or calcerous, from caleis—lime. Granular shells
you have been told are sometimes called concretionary, this is
because they contain a large amount of this chalky deposit.
The rock called limestone, geologists tell us is composed entirely
of fossil shells and mud, or what was once mud, dried and hard-
ened, most likely by extreme heat, to the consistence of rock.
Wonderful this to think of; huge mountains, and mighty masses,
and far-stretching strata, forming a large portion of the crust of
the earth, made up chiefly of the coverings of fishes, a great
portion of them so small as to be scarcely visible to the naked
eye.—Truly wonderful! But we shall have more to say upon this
head when we come to speak of Fossil Shells, as well as on the
subject of Pearls, in our chapter on the fish in whose shells they
are chiefly found.
It has been a matter of dispute with naturalists whether the
testaceous mollusks have shells at all before they issue from the
egg, and the main evidence favours the opinion that, generally
speaking, they do possess what may be considered as a kind of
pattern or model of the habitation which they are to build. This
appears to be of a pale horn-colour, and destitute of any markings;
but as soon as the animal enters upon an independent state of
existence, it begins to assume its distinctive shape and colour,
gradually increasing with the growth of its living tenant, and
becoming more and more decidedly marked, until it attains its
full perfection of testacean development. Thus the age of some
VI INTRODUCTION.
shell-fish can be at once determined by the peculiar conformation
and markings of the shell.
The relative portions of animal and earthy, or rather chalky
matter, which compose these shells, varies considerably in different
kinds; in those called Crystalline or Porcellaneous, the animal
deposit is much less than in the granular or concretionary shells,
where it not only constitutes a large part of the whole substance,
but is more dense, that is thick, and also has the appearance of
being membraneous, or organized matter. We can perhaps best
explain this by saying that whereas the different chal layers of
the crystalline shell seem merely glued together by the imtervening
animal fluid; those of the granular shell, as the oyster, appear to be
connected by interlacing membranes. But all this my readers will
learn more about from more advanced and scientific works if they
proceed, as I trust they will do, in the study of ConcnoLoey, a
science which has in a greater or less degree attracted the atten-
tion of curious and contemplative minds in all ages, and the study
of which it has been well said is peculiarly adapted to recreate
the senses, and insensibly to lead us to the contemplation of the
glory of God in creation.
BEAUTY AND VALUE OF SHELLS.
Tn shells, as in alk the works of the Almighty Creator, we may
observe an infinite variety of form, and if they do not all strike
vs as alike graceful, yet in each, however plain and simple, there
is some peculiar beauty, whether it be the mere hollow cup, or
the simple tube, the smooth or twisted cone, the slender spire,
the convoluted oval, or half circle, ribbed or spiked, with a lip
curving out like the leaf of a water lily, or a narrow rim, like
that of a golden chalice; they are indeed elegant, each perfect of
its kind, and bearing the impress of a constructive skill far above
that of man, who copies from them some of the most graceful
and elegant designs wherewith to ornament his buildings, and shapes
in which to fashion his articles of luxury or utility.
The most beautiful scroll-work of marble chimney-pieces, cornices
of rooms, and other enriched portions of both publie and private
structures, are those in which the forms of shells have been taken
for the patterns of the artistic designs; and how tasteful and
appropriate is the employment of the shells themselves as orna-
ments for the mantle-piece, side-board, and chiffonniere. Then too,
“The rainbow-tinted shell, which lies
Miles deep at bott6m of the sea, hath all
Cqlours of skies, and flowers, and gems, and plants.”
INTRODUCTION. Vil
Not only has it grace and elegance of form, but it has also
richness, and delicacy, and variety of colourmg. In some species
the tints are intensely vivid as the shifting lights of the aurora
borealis, or the glowing hues of an autumnal sunset; in others
pale and delicate as the first indications of coming morn, or the
scarcely-perceptible tinge of a just expanding flower-bud; in some
the colours are arranged in patterns, regularly disposed; in others,
in masses and blotches, of varying shapes‘and degrees of intensity;
in some again they seem to change and melt one into the other,
like the prismatic hues of the rambow. In all, whether distinct
and unconnected, or intimately blended, whether regular or irregular,
they are beautiful exceedingly. Nor is their beauty of an evanes-
cent, that is fading, or vanishing character; unlike plants and
animals, which when once dead, are extremely difficult of preser-
vation, Shells, being composed of particles already in natural
combination, are almost indestructible; unless exposed to the action
of fire, or some powerful acid, they will remain the same for ages,
requiring no care or attention,-beyond occasionally removing the
dust, which would collect upon and defile their pearly whiteness.
or obscure the brilliancy of their colours.
So easily collected, arranged, and preserved, and withal so sin-
gular and graceful of form, and rich and various of tint, one
cannot. wonder that Shells have always had a conspicuous place in
all museums, and other collections of natural history objects:
neither can we feel surprised that a high value should have been
set upon rare specimens; as much as a thousand pounds it is
said has been given for the first discovered specimen of the Venus
Dione; another shell ealled the Conus cedo nulli, is valued at three
hundred pounds; and the Turbo sealoris, if large and perfect, is
worth one hundred guineas; while the Cyprea avrantium, or
Orange Cowry, if it has not a hole beaten through it, will fetch
fifty guineas. It has been calculated that a complete collection of
British Conchology is worth its weight in silver.
The followmg quotation is from “The Young Conchologist,” by
Miss Roberts;—our readers will do well to peruse it attentively:
—“We admit that shells are beautiful, and that they are admirably
adapted to the exigencies of the wearers; but how shall we account
for the endless diversity of shades and colours, varying from the
sober coating of the garden snail, to the delicate and glowing tints
which are diffused over some of the finer species, in the infinite
profusion of undulations; clouds and spots, bands and reticulated
figures, with which these admirable architects enrich the walls of
their beautiful receptacles. The means of producing them must
be sought for in the animals themselves. Their necks are fur-
nished with pores replete with colouring fluid, which blends
on
ws
vill INTRODUCTION.
insensibly with the calcareous exudation already noticed, and thus
occasions that exquisite variety in their testaceous coverings, which
art attempts to emulate, but can never fully equal. Thus far is
the result of observation and experiment. It now remains to
account for the extraordinary fact that the stony exudations of
testaceous animals condense only on those parts where they are
essential to their welfare. But here investigation ends—the miero-
rig has done its office? It seems as if maternal nature delighted
to baffle the wisdom of her sons, and to say to the proud assertors
of the sufficiency of human reason for comprehending the mysteries
of creation and of Providence, ‘Thus far can you go, and no
farther; even in the formation of a shell, or its insignificant
inhabitant, your arrogant pretensions are completely humbled.’”
USES OF SHELLS.
In speaking of shells as ornaments. and objects worthy of our
study and admiration, we have already mentioned some of their
uses, for surely that which contributes to the intellectual improve-
ment and innocent pleasure of mankind, is in its degree useful.
But on the more narrow ground of utility, shells may also claim
a high place in our estimation. To man in a barbarous and
uncivilized state, they furnish the means of performing some of
the most important operations of daily life, being extensively used
as a substitute for iron. The savage frequently forms his knife,
his hunting spear, and his fish-hook of hard shell. Lister relates
that the inhabitants of Nicaragua, in South America, fasten a
shell, called the Ostrea virginica, to a handle of wood, and use
it as a spade. In North America the natives use a blue and
white belt composed of shells called the Venus mercenaria, as a
Figo of peace and unity, and there too the gorget of the
chieftain’s war-dress is composed of the pearl-bearing mussel, called
by naturalists Mytilus margaritiferus. Many African tribes use
the Murex tritonis as a military horn, and a rare variety of this
shell, which has the volutions reversed, is held sacred, and used
only by the priests. Among the Friendly Islanders the Orange
Cowry is a symbol of the highest dignity. The Money Cowry,
(Cyprea moneta,) forms the current coin of many nations of
Africa; and a certain number of these shells strung together, are
considered by the slave-hunting chiefs, as an equivalent for so
many black-skinned brothers, whom they sell into hopeless bondage.
Among nations, too, in a high state of civilization, shells are
often used for economical as well as ornamental purposes. To
say nothing of mother-of-pearl, which is converted into so many
articles useful as well as pretty, scallop, or oyster shells, are fre-
INTRODUCTION. ix
quently employed as scoops by druggists, grocers, and the like; and
in the country the dairy-maid, with the larger kinds of the
same shell, skims her milk, and slices her butter; while sometimes
by the poor people of both towns and villages, the deeper specimens
are converted into oil lamps. One very important use, my young
readers will understand, when I speak of a ragged urchin, who
shouts to every passer-by—‘Please remember the grotto!’
In ancient times, we are told, the people of Athens recorded
their votes on public occasions, by marks upon a shell, thus Pope
says—
‘We whom ungrateful Athens would expel,
At all times just, but when he signed the shell;”
in allusion to this custom, of which we are reminded by such
English words as Attestation, a certifying, a bearing witness;
Testify, to give evidence; Yestament, a will, or written disposal
of property, etc.; all having their origin, it appears, in the Latin
testa——a shell. In ancient poetry we find the word Testudo used
to signify a musical instrument, also called a lyre or lute, which
instrument, according to tradition, was first made by passing
strings, and straining them tightly, over the shell of a tortoise.
So the poet Dryden, describing those who listened to the music
drawn from this simple invention, says—
‘Less than a God they thought there could not dwell,
Within the hollow of that shell
That spoke so sweetly.”
A Greek writer, called Apollodorus, gives this account of the
invention of music by the Egyptian god Hermes, more commonly
known as Mercury. The Nile having overflowed its banks, and
laid under water the whole country of Egypt, left, when it returned
to its usual boundaries, various dead animals on the land; among
the rest was a tortoise, the flesh of which being dried and wasted
by the sun, nothing remained within the shell except nerves and
cartilages, or thin gristly bones; these being shrunk and tightened
by the heat, became sonorous, that is sounding. Against this
shell Mercury chanced to strike his foot, and pleased by the
sound caused thereby, examined the shell from which it came, and so
got a notion, as we say, how he might construct a musical instrument.
The first which he made was in the form of a tortoise, and strung
with the dried sinews of dead animals, even as are the lutes, harps,
and fiddles of the present day. This fanciful mode of accounting
ae the origin of music, is thus alluded to by a writer named
rown:—
x INTRODUCTION.
“The lute was first devised
In imitation of a tortoise’ back,
Whose sinews parched by Apollo’s beams,
Echoed about the concave of the shell;
And seeing the shortest and smallest gave shrillest sound;
They found out frets, whose sweet diversity
Well touched by the skilful learned fingers,
Roused so strange a multitude of chords.
And the opinion many do confirm,
Because tes‘udo signifies a lute.”
And now we are among the myths and fables of antiquity, we
may just mention another application of the shell to musical
purposes. Neptune, who, according to the Grecian mythology,
was the god of the sea, is frequently represented as going forth
in his car in great state and pomp, with a body-guard of Tritons;
some of whom go before with twisted conch shells as trumpets,
with which we are to suppose they make delightful harmony. Venus,
too, the goddess of beauty, rode on the ocean foam in a testaceous
car. Thus Dryden says, that Albion—our native land, so called
on account of its chalky cliffs, from the Latin alba—white:—
“Was to Neptune recommended;
Peace and plenty spread the sails;
Venus in her shell before him,
From the sands in safety bore him,”
But without believing all these fables, more poetical than true,
we may soon convince ourselves that in the hollow chambers of
a shell, there does seem to dwell, like an imprisoned spirit, a
low sad kind of music. An English poet, named Walter Savage
Lander, has well described this in these lines—
“Of pearly hue
Within, and they that lustre have imbibed
In the sun’s palace porch, where, when unyoked,
His chariot wheel stands midway in the wave;
Shake one, and it awakens; then apply
Its polished lips to your attentive ear,
And it remembers its august abodes,
And murmurs as the ocean murmurs there,”
Wordsworth, too, gives a beautiful description of a child applying
one of these pearly musical-boxes to his ear.
Many other uses of shelis might be mentioned, to show that
they perform an important part in the operations of nature, as
the means and modes by and in which God sees fit to order the
affairs of this world are frequently called; and also promote the
ends of science, and the arts of every-day life. By the decom-
position of the shells, of which they are partly composed, solid
rocks frequently crumble to pieces, and spreading over a considerable
INTRODUCTION. x1
surface, form a fruitful soil for the nourishment of vegetation.
The character of the testaceous deposits, too, enable geologists, as
those who study the nature and structure of the earth are termed,
to come to important conclusions on many points connected with
the subject of this investigation. And if we include, as the subject
of our book allows, the inhabitants of shells, how wide a field of
usefulness opens before us. How many thousands of our industrious
population depend wholly, or in part, upon the capture and sale
of shell-fish for their support. In some parts, as the western
and northern Islands of Scotland, they have in times of scarcity
afforded sustenance to the dwellers on the bleak and barren shores,
who but for them must have perished. But of all this we shall
have more to say when we come to describe the different members
of the testaceous family. We will now offer a few remarks upon
THE INHABITANTS OF SHELLS;
Which belonging to that division of Natural History called the
Mollusca, from the Latin Mollis—soft; these Molluscous animals,
then, are animals having a soft body, and no internal skeleton.
You may be quite sure that a Jfol/usk will never break its bones,
because it has none to break; it has a shell, however, which may
be broken, at least in some cases, for all Mollusks have not snug
habitations of the kind; but wander about the watery or earthy
world in which they live, quite naked; such as the sea and land
slugs, and some worms, leeches, ete.: but with these we have
nothing to do, our present subject including only a part of
MALACOLOGY,
another member of that queer ology family, deriving its name
from two Greek words signifying soft, and a discourse; hence it
means a discourse upon soft, or soft-bodied, animals, that is mollusca.
It is only a part then of Malacology that we have to do with;
that part which relates to the shell-inhabiting mollusks, and strange
creatures enough some of these are. We will have a look at
them presently; just now it will be sufficient to observe that the
mollusca testacea, or soft-bodied animals, furnished with shells,
possess the power of exuding, that is, discharging from various
parts of their bodies a sticky kind of fluid, which mixing with
the chalky matter collected from the water, and becoming hard,
forms, in process of time, the shelly covering which is at once a
dwelling and a defence for the inhabitant.
Miss Pratt, in her delightful book on “Common Things of the
Sea Coast,” observes of these shells that, ‘‘We gather up those
which we find, and looking at their structure would fain know
xl INTRODUCTION.
something of the inmate of such a dwelling. All nature proclaims
the goodness of God. We hear that the bird which wings its
way over our heads has a song of joy; the bee hums delightedly
by us; and the little shrimp which darts in the clear pool, seems
full of merriment. Was the inmate of the shell less cared for
by its Maker? No doubt the little builder had some sense of
joy, as he framed from his own substance the house which excites
our admiration. Doubtless his existence, short and sluggish as
it was, had its own consciousness of pleasure; and obscure as is
his history, and little calculated as such a creature might seem
to perform an important part in the economy of creation, yet we
know that he ad a work to do, not only for the living creatures
of the sea, but for the well-being of man himself.”
CLASSIFICATION OF SHELLS.
The great naturalist Linneus divided shells into thirty-six genera,
each of which comprised a number of species; of these species
somewhere about two thousand five hundred have been described and
classified; the varieties, more or less distinct, are almost countless.
Of shells found on and about the British Isles, there are about
five hundred and fifty species, or, we should rather say were, for
diligent enquirers into this branch of Natural History, are almost
daily adding to the number.
We have already seen that shells are sometimes called Crystalline,
and sometimes Granular, in accordance with certain peculiarities
of construction before mentioned: this is one mode of division;
there are several others made use of in different systems of
arrangement, which only a deeper study of the subject than can
be here entered upon, would enable one to saietmecadl ; the plainest
and most common, however, is that which has reference to the
form of the shell, which is one of these—
UNIVALVE. BIVALVE. MULTIVALVE,
Whelk. Mussel, Barnacle.
INTRODUCTION. xii
These words are derived from the Latin, wnws—one, bi—two,
multus—many, and therefore it may at once be seen that they
apply to shells having one, two, or several pieces or divisions.
Valve comes from the Latin valva, and means a folding door, a
lid, a piece moving on a hinge, as the divisions in several of these
shells do.
This order of arrangement is generally followed by those who
make a collection of shells for a cabinet; and to this we shall
adhere as at once the most simple and convenient, when we come
to describe the several species of testaceous mollusks. We will
now say a few words on
TAKING AND PRESERVING SHELLS.
A diligent searcher along any beach or coast line, will be sure
sometimes to lght upon curious and valuable specimens and
especially after violent storms may such be sought for, with the
greatest chance of success, for the agitation of the waters will
then have loosened them from their natural beds and dwelling-
places, and cast them on the shore. Very frequently, however,
they will be so beaten about and defaced, that they will be
comparatively valueless; if enveloped in tangled masses of sea-
weed, they are likely to be preserved from injury; and such heaps
of uprooted marine vegetation will often afford a rich harvest to
the young conachologist, who should always carefully examine them.
Many of the shells are so minute as scarcely to be seen with the
naked eye, therefore this search can scarcely be properly effected
without the assistance of a pocket lens, the cost of which is but
trifling. The undersides of pieces of stranded timber, the bottoms
of boats lately returned from a fishing voyage, the fisherman’s
dredge or net, the cable, and the deep-sea line; all these may
prove productive, and should be looked to whenever opportunity
offers; nor should the search for land aud fresh-water shells be
neglected, for many of these are very curious, as well as
beautiful, and no conchological collection 1s complete without them.
For these the best hunting grounds are the ditch side and the
river bed, the mossy bank and the hedge-row; amid the twining,
serpent-like roots of the old thorn and elder trees; the crevices
of the garden wall, the undersides of stones, and all sorts of out-
of-the-way holes, nooks, and corners, where may be found the
Striped Zebra, and other prettily-marked snail shells, and many
other kinds worthy of a place in—
THE CABINET;
which may be either large or small, plain or handsome, in accordance
~
XIV INTRODUCTION.
with the means of the collector. Perhaps for a beginner just a
nest of shallow drawers in a deal or other case, may be quite
sufficient; these drawers should be divided into compartments, on
the front side of each of which should be pasted a neatly written
label, with the common and scientific name of the species of shell
contained in it, together with brief mention of the date when,
and the place where, it was taken; and any observations relating
to it which can be comprised in a few words, and may seem to
the collector of sufficient interest to warrant their insertion. This
would be a good beginning; by and by, when the collection is
large, the knowledge more ample, and the outlay can be spared,
it will be time to think of something ornamental—mahogany and
glass, and carved or inlaid work, such a Cabinet as would properly
display and enhance the beauties of your testaceous treasures, which
are tou often stowed away, with other natural curiosities, in a
very disorderly, higgledy-piggledy sort of manner, like the collec-
tion described by Dryden.
‘He furnishes his closet first, and fills
The crowded shelves with rarities of shells;
Adds orient pearls, which from the wave he drew,
And all the sparkling stones of various hue.”
When live shells, as they are called, that is having the living
fish in them, are obtained, the best plan is to place them in
spirits of wine, this at once deprives the inhabitant of life, with-
‘out injuring the shell, which should then be placed in hot water
for a time, the body of the mollusk is thus rendered firm, and
may be removed by means of some pointed instrument; care should
be taken to leave no portion of animal matter within, or after a
while it will become putrid and give out a stain, which will show
through and injure the delicate markings of the shell; the surest,
most epee and least troublesome mode of cleansing a shell,
is to place it in an ant heap for a day or two; the busy
little insects will penetrate into its inmost cavaties, and remove
hence all offending matter. There will be no difficulty in this
respect with the multivalve and bivalve kinds, which are only
kept closed by means of a set of muscles, which can be tightened
or relaxed at the pleasure of the animal within, and become
powerless to keep the shell closed as soon as that is dead. Great
care must be taken to preserve unbroken the smaller parts of these
shells, such as the hinges or teeth, as on the structure of these
the scientific arrangement into genera chiefly depends; the beard
also, as it is called, and silky threads, must not be removed, as
these have much to do in determining the particular species.
River and land shells are generally very thin and brittle, and
must be carefully handled; their colours are not usually so brilliant
INTRODUCTION. xv
as those of the marie species, but they form links in the testaceous
chain, which are necessary to a proper study and elucidation of
conchology.
The most glowing and gorgeous of all shells are those brought
from the Tropical seas, and, excepting in a few rare instances,
specimens of most of these can be obtained at little cost from any
dealer, or from sailors returning from a voyage. If it is necessary
to send either those, or British shells, any distance, or to pack
them away in a small compass, the best plan is to wrap them
separately in soft paper, place them in a box, and then pour in
sawdust, bran, or fine sand, very dry, until all the open spaces are
completely filled up.
ON CLEANING AND POLISHING SHELLS.
All shells, whether inhabited or not, when taken should be
soaked for a while in hot water, to remove the dirt which may
adhere to them, and dissolve the saline, that is salt, particles con-
tained in the sea water; they should then be thoroughly dried,
and if, as is the case with many, they naturally possess a good
polish, they are at once fit for the cabinet. Generally, however,
it happens that when shells are dry, they loose much of the
peculiar brillianey of hue, which they possess when seen through
the medium of the glistening water; to restore this, wash them
over with a thin solution of gum arabic, or white of egg; some
collectors use a varnish made of gum mastic, dissolved in spirits
of wine; this is perhaps preferable, as it is not affected by moisture.
Many shells have a very plain, dull, appearance, in consequence
of being covered over with a kind of skin called an epidermis,
a word derived from the Greek, and signifying the outer skin,
sometimes called the cuticle. To remove this, soak the shell in
warm water for some time, and then rub it over with a stiff
brush, until the covering is removed; should this be very thick,
it will be necessary to mix a little nitric acid with the water, but
this must be done very cautiously, for if too strong it will remove
all the lustre from the surface of the shell subjected to its in-
fluence. Sometimes the file, and a substance called pumice stone
has to be used, but these are dangerous agents in inexperienced
hands. The best polish for the shell after the skin is removed,
is a red earth called tripoli, applied on a piece of soft leather.
FOSSIL SHELLS.
An eminent Geologist named Dr. Mantell, has very beautifully
and poetically termed rocks ‘“The Medals of Creation.” As on coins
xvl INTRODUCTION.
and medals, we see stamped enduring records of great historical
events, so upon the rocks are written by the finger of God, a
history of some of the mighty changes which the earth has un-
dergone, and fossil shells are among the plainest and most easily
read of the characters or letters, in which these truths are written.
As Dr. Harvey in his “Sea-side Book,” observes, ‘“Shelly-coated
mollusca have existed in the waters of the sea and in rivers,
from a very early period of the world’s history, and have left
in its most stratiied rocks and gravels abundance of their shells
preserved in a more perfect manner than the remains of most
other animals. Now as the species in the early rocks differ from
those found in later formations, quite as much as the latter from
the mollusca of our modern seas, the gradual change in the
character of the embedded shells marks a certain interval of time
in the world’s history.” So we see that these rocks are the
leaves of a great book, written all over with wonderful truths,
and those who study such sciences as Geology and Conchology,
are enabled to read much that is there written.
Every fossil shell that such a student picks out of the chalk,
or limestone, is like a letter in the Alphabet of Creation; it has a
significance, or meaning, and a number of such put together form
as it were words and sentences, that can be made up into chapters,
full of instruction, aye, and of amusement too. The study ma
seem a little dry at first, but never mind, go on, and you will
soon be rewarded for your diligence, by the wonders that will
unfold themselves to your understanding—the fresh and delightful
views which you will obtain into the wide universe, the new and
enlarged ideas of the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, and
of the formation, habits, and connexion each with each of his
various creatures.
Properly to treat of fossil shells, would require a book of itself,
and a large book too; we can here but allude to the subject, as
a part, and a very important and interesting part of the stud
of Conchology; more will be said about it in a volume Wiel
we purpose writing for this series, on Rocks, and the petrified
organic remains found in and about them.
“Those relics of an older world, which tell
Of changes slow or sudden, that have past
Over the face of nature; fossil shell,
Shark’s tooth, ang-bone of megatheran vast,
Turned into stone, and so preserved to show
Man of those things whereof he ought to know.”
PEAUTTE ML Sit Pits,
UNIVALVES.
GasTERopopA is a name given by some naturalists to a very
extensive group of molluscous animals; the term is derived
from two Greek words, signifying stomach and foot;—it has
reference to the kind of fleshy foot which generally occupies
the whole under side of the body, and by the contraction and
extension of the muscles of which, the creature is enabled to
glide, with a slow but steady motion, from place to place.
The Slug and the Snail are the commonest examples which
can be adduced of gasteropods; and one may tell by their
slimy tracks, shining like silver in the morning sunshine,
that during the night, which is their principal feeding time,
they manage to get over a considerable extent of ground,
although ‘“‘a snail’s gallop” is a proverbial expression for slow
motion; but it is astonishing how much work of any kind may
be done if one ‘‘keeps at it; by doing this the Tortoise beat
the Hare, illustrating the truth of the proverb, that ‘‘slow and
sure wins the race.” If you watch a Snail travelling with
its house upon its back, it does not seem to make much way,
and you are inclined to think that it will be long ere it
reaches the new settlement to which it appears journeying
with bag and baggage; but leave the spot for a while, and
the chances are that on your return, the ‘‘slow coach” will
18 THE COMMON SNAIL.
have got somewhere out of sight. Here is a lesson for boys
and girls; whatever you take in hand, don’t be in a hurry,
and if people say you are “slow,” think of the snail, and
keep on!
This, then, is a shelled mollusk of the third class, called
Gasteropoda, according to the system of the French naturalist
Cuvier. It has a distinct head, which, like the hinder part
of the body, which we may call a tail if we lke, projects,
when the creature is in motion, considerably from the shell;
it is also furnished with what we commonly call horns, nat-
uralists say tentacles, from the Latin tento—trying, or essaying;
with these the creature, as it were, feels its way; being
extremely sensitive; they answer the purpose of organs both
of sight and touch; put your finger slowly towards one of
them, and you will observe that, even before contact, it begins
to retract, or draw in, as though sensible of the approach of
some opposing body, as it no doubt is. ‘These horns of the
snail, then, are its feelers—eyes to the blind, fingers to the
fingerless; so God provides for his creatures all that may be
necessary for their existence, and compensates for the depriva-
tion of one sense or organ, by some admirable contrivance which
meets the necessities of the case.*
THE COMMON SNAIL
Is called by naturalists Helix aspersa, the generic name being
derived from a Greek word signifying spiral, and having refer-
ence to the shape of the shell; the plural is J/elices, a term
applied to all convoluted or twisted shells, which terminate
in a point like a church spire: a spiral-shelled fossil is called
a helicate. The specific name comes from the Latin asper—
rough, whence also our English word aspyerity—roughness, and
* It appears likely that the little knobs at the end of the snail’s feelers, are, as
some naturalists assert, in reality eyes; if so, we were w rong in calling the creature
blind. Yet is their position and ‘construction so different from organs of sight gen-
erally, that they serve rather to strengthen than invalidate the above observations.
The number of the horns varies in different kinds of snails from two to six, and
some have none at all. These tentacles, when present, are always situatec above
the mouth; some of them have the knobs at the base, cthers at the sides; and it
has been conjectured that they may be organs of smell, as well as of sight and touch.
DSI
THE COMMON SNAIL. 19
several others. The WHeleide, or LHelix family, is that which
includes the land shell Snails and the naked Slugs, aud in
this family there are several genera; they are distinguished
from the shelled water Snails, beth sea and river, by having
a different breathing apparatus, and some other points of
internal construction which it is not necessary to describe
’ here.
The Commen Snail has a mouth, of which it makes good
use, as market gardeners well know, and yet this mouth is
not furnished with teeth; instead of these, the upper lip, which
is of a horny texture, is what is called dentated, from the
Latin dextus—a toeth, that is, divided or separated, so as to
prescnt somewhat the appearance of a row of teeth in the
jaw; this lp is of an arched form, and appears to be a very
serviceable kind ef instrument to Mr. Heltx aspersa, who, if
his character be net aspersed, 1s very destructive to all sorts
of greenery. The lower lip is divided only in the middle,
where there is an opening of some width: it is not horny,
like the upper one.
Snails lay eggs, which are about the size of very small
peas; they are soft, and of a whitish colour. Being semi,
that is, half, transparent, or clear, their contents can be partly
seen; and in those of a water Snail, deposited against the side
of a glass bottle, the young were detected with partially
formed shells upon their backs.
To shew how tenacious they are of life, it has been men-
tioned that Mr. 8. Simon, a Dublin merchant, had a collection
of fossils and other curiosities lett him by his father; among
these were some shells of Snails, and fifteen years after the
collection came into his possession, his son had the shells to
play with, and placed them in a basin of water, when le!
out came the slimy bodies and knobbed horns of several of
the Gasteropods, no doubt hungry enough after their long sleep.
We'all know that our Commen Snails hybernate, or sleep
through the winter. As soon as the chills of autumn are
felt, they seek out some snug crevice in an old wall, or burrow
in the earth, or congregate beneath garden pots, roots of trees,
thatched roofs, or in any hole or corner that may be convenient,
and then throwing a kind of temporary skin, like a drum
head, which naturalists call operculum, over the opening of
20 THE COMMON SNAIL.
their shells, and sticking themselves fast to the sides of their
refuge, or to each other, they sleep away, careless of frosts
and tempests.
A moist and rather warm state of the atmosphere seems
most congenial to the land Snails, some species of which are
found in all countries, except those where the most intense -
cold prevails. Generally speaking, they do not like dry heat,
and to escape from it will get under stones, and into other
cool places, from whence a shower brings them forth in such
numbers, the smaller species especially, as to lead to the
popular belief that it sometimes rains Snails.
These Gasteropods, although extremely injurious to vegeta-
tion, must not be regarded as worse than useless, as they
commonly are; besides furnishing food for several wild, as
well as domesticated, birds, they are no doubt a nourishing
article of diet for man. ‘The Romans had their cochlearia,
where Snails were regularly fed and fattened for the table;
and the French at the present day their eseargototres, or Snail-
ery, for the same purpose; some of the Snails so kept, attain
an immense size, as well they may if fed, as by the Romans,
on new wine and meal. Many poor persons, especially those
who are consumptive, might no~ doubt derive much cheap
sustenance and benefit from using the larger species of Helicide,
which might be collected from hedges and gardens as food.
Why should they not eat those as well as the marine mol-
lusks, such as Oysters, Cockles, Whelks, ete.
Snails have an extraordinary power of re-producing any
part which may be injured or cut off, even to the extent of
the whole head, as has been observed to be the case; the
reparation of injury done to the shell they can effect easily,
as can all testaceous mollusks. Respecting the construction of
the shell it may be observed that it is produced in the thick-
ness of the mantle, or cloak-like covering which envelopes
the body of the animal; the formation commences at the
small end or spire, and gradually goes on, whorl upon whorl,
as the still widening circles which give the ridgy appearance
to most univalves, are called. Columella, or pillar, is the name
given to the spire on which the cones are rolled; this is
sometimes solid, and sometimes hollow; when the latter, the
open end is called the Umbilieus, meaning the navel or centre.
THE COMMON SNALL. 21
The opening at the bottom, from which the animal issues,
is the last portion finished, and this is called the aperture,
a Latin word adopted into the English dictionary. Some of
these Helices are wide and flat, even hollow and cup-lke,
with the whorls rising above the pillar—these are called
discoid shells; others which are long and narrow, with pro-
jecting spires, are termed turbinated shells; the former being
more or less flat or disk-like, the latter twisted, whirling, like
a ene ae, from the Latin turbo—a whirling, a turning
round.
DISCOID, TURBINATED.
If we take a Common Snail, and plunge it into boiling
water, which will instantly kill it, so that it can be re-
moved from the shell, we shall find the whole of that part
of the body which was lodged in the upper whorls, or spiral
part of the shell, is covered with a thin membrane or skin;
this is called the mantle, and that portion of it which cor-
responds with what we may consider as the back of the
mollusk, and which is considerably thickened, is termed the
collar; here are situated the glands, which secrete the colouring
and other matter of which the shell is maiuly composed;
although the substance called nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is
secreted in the thinner part of the mantle; it is however from
the collar that the growth or increase of the shell proceeds.
It is in accordance with certain variations in the shape and
disposition of this mantle and collar, that shells assume such
very different shapes. Sometimes the whorls or spiral ridges, are
projected or thrown far out, and this produces the turbinated
shell. Sometimes they scarcely rise above each other, but
rather spread towards the sides, and then we have the discord
shape. Generally speaking, the whorls of a shell take a direc-
tion from left to right, but occasionally an opposite one;
22 THE COMMOM SNAIL.
they are then called sinistral, or left-handed shells: such are
not common. If one of the twisted shells be divided length-
ways, it will be seen that the inside of the whorls wind in
an ascending direction, round the Columella, or central column,
as the spiral staircases in the Crystal Palace.
But let us return to our Garden Snail, who has many near
relatives in Britain, several of which have beautifully-marked
and convoluted shells, as will be seen by a reference to our
eoloured illustrations, Plate I. We will intreduce them in
due order. Fig. 1, the Banded Snail, (Helix nemoralis,) from
the Latin nemus—a wood or grove; the prettily-striped shells
of this species may be found in great plenty among the
roots and in the crevices of the rugged boles of old forest
trees, as well as in hedge-rows and in mossy banks, and other
situations near woods. Fig. 2, the Heath Snail, (ZZ. ericetorum,)
from erica, the Latin for heath; a small species with brown
bands, remarkable for its large umbilicus, perforating the centre
of the shell nearly through. Fig. 3, the Silky Snail, (JZ.
serwcea,) from the Latin ser icus—silk- like; the shell of this
species is covered with short slimy hairs, which give it a
glistening appearance. Fig. 4, the Stone Snail, (H. lapierda, )
from the Latin lapis—a stone: Linneus ealled the species
the Stone Cutter, probably on aecount of its habit of fre-
quenting stony places, and the peculiar construction of the
shell, whieh has a sharp edge running round eaeh whorl; it
is commonly found lodged in the cavities of loose-lying stones,
but which it can scarcely be suspected of having hollowed
out for its own accommodation.
Fig. 5, the Elegant Cyclostome, (Cyclostoma elegans.) On
turning to the dictionary, we find that cyelostemous means
having a circular mouth. This species is sometimes called
Turbo elegans; the beautifully-marked shells are often found
™m chalk-hills covered with brushwood. This pretty mollusk
has a curious mode of travelling; the under surface of the
foot, which is long, is divided by a deep fissure, into two
narrow strips, like ribbons; these take hold of whatever the
creature may be moving on alternately; one keeping fast hold
while the other advances, in like manner to fix itself, and
drag the body forward. Fig. 6, the Undulated Plekocheilos,
(P. undulatus;) the Latin plecte—to twist or twine, seems
FRESH-WATER SHELLS. 23
to be the root from which the generic name of this Snail
is derived; the specific name will be easily understood; to
undulate, is to flow like waves, and the lines on the shell
it will be seen are undulating. This is not a British species,
but is introduced here to give variety to the group; it is a
West Indian Mollusk, and is found in immense numbers in
the forests of St. Vincent; it glues its eggs to the leaves of a
plant which holds water, and thus secures for them a damp
atmosphere at all times. And here we must conclude our
chapter of Land Snails, leaving unnoticed very many beautiful
and interesting species, both British and Foreign.
Many poets have alluded to the Snail, but we can only
find room for a few verses by Cowper:—
To grass, or leaf, or fruit, or wall,
The snail sticks close. nor fears to fall,
As if he grew there, house and all
Together.
~Within that house secure he hides,
When danger imminent betides
Of storm, or other harm besides,
. Of weather.
re but his horns the slightest touch,
His self-collecting power is such,
He shrinks into his house with much
Displeasure.
Where’er he dwells, he dwells alone,
Except himself has chattels none,
Well satisfied to be his own
Whole treasure.
Thus hermit-like, his life he leads,
Nor partner of his banquet needs,
And if he meets one only feeds
The faster.
Who seeks him must be worse than blind,
(He and his house are so combin’d,
If, finding it, he fails to find
Its master.
FRESH-WATER SHELLS.
Many of the following group of Fresh-water Shells, are re-
markable for elegance of form, and some for richness of colouring;
24 FRESH-WATER SHELLS. ©
hence, perhaps, the scientific name applied to the family in
which they are mostly included—Limneida, which, like limn—
to paint, agrees with the French enluminer. These mollusks
are found in rivers, streams, ditches, and moist marshy places.
Like those which live wholly on land, they breathe through
lungs, and therefore cannot exist without air; which accounts
for their frequently coming to the surface, when under water.
In brooks, as well as in stagnant pools, which abound with
aquatic plants, they may be found in vast numbers, feeding
upon the moist vegetation.
The Common Limnea, (ZL. stagnalis,) is mostly an inhabitant
of stagnant waters, where it is often seen floating with the
shell reversed, as in a boat; this shell, like most of those
of the Fresh-water Mollusks, is thin, and easily broken; the
shape it will be seen, is peculiarly elegant, the spire being
slender and pointed—very different from that of the Spreading
limnea, called by naturalists, Z. auriecularia, from aurus—
the ear, to which the broad aperture, or opening of the shell,
may be compared; this resembles the other species in its habits.
The Horny Planorbis, in Latin
P. corneus, from eorvnu—a horn.
The shape, you will see, is flat,
the whorls rolling upon each
other like the folds of a bugle
horn; this shape would be termed
orbicular, from orbis—a_ sphere,
or circular body. ‘This is the
largest European species of Fresh-
water Shells so constructed; it is
FRESH-WATER SHELLS. 25
often found in deep clear ditches, and yields a_ beautiful
purple dye, which, however, soon becomes dull, and changes;
it cannot be fixed, and is therefore valueless. The mouth of
this shell in fine specimens, is tinged with pale violet or lilac.
There is another kind, the Keeled Planorbis, (P. lurinatus, )
which has the outer edge of the shell finely ridged, or keeled;
it is very small, and very plentiful in fresh-water, both running
and stagnant; where, too, is found the Common Physa, (P. fon-
tinalis,) the latter word meaning a spring or fountain. ‘This
little mollusk is a quick and active traveller, it sometimes
comes out of its shell, and throws itself about in an extra-
ordinary way, keeping fast hold by its foot; the generic name,
Physa, would seem to have reference to the round, smooth,
delicate shell, and to come from the same root as Physalite,
which means a topaz: the members of this genus are very
numerous, being found nearly all over the globe. The next
belongs to the family Auriculade, or Ear Shells. The Midas’
Ear, (A. Mide@;) this handsome shell is prized by collectors;
it comes from the East Indies. Midas, it is said, was one who
set himself up for a judge of music in the old fabulous times,
and not appreciating that of Apollo, was rewarded by the
angry god with a pair of ass’s ears.
The Cone-shaped Melampus, (JL corniformis,) also an Kar
Shell, is found in the rivers of the Antilles Islands. It is. a
pretty shell; the formation is much the same as that of many
of the most highly-prized varieties of Marine Shells; of these
we shall have to speak presently. Melampodium in Latin, sig-
nifies a poisonous plant called Black Helebore; in the Mythology,
Melampus was a great magician, who did all sorts of wonder-
ful things; but we cannot tell what relation there exists
between either the plant or the magician and this pretty cone
26 THE WHELKE.
shell. To give variety to this group, we will now throw in
a land species called Megaspira Ruschenbergiana, about the
origin of whose name we cannot even hazard a guess; the
termination of the generic name, you will see is spira, and
—=
—S
=—-
=
SS
a glance at the shell will at once suggest a reason for this;
its long tapering spire consists of twenty-three closely-set
gradually increasing whorls. This is a rare shell, whose in-
habitant has not yet been described by naturalists; several of
the marine species closely resemble it in shape. Much more
might be said about the Land and Fresh-water Shells, but
we must here leave them, having a wide field before us,
namely, the Sea or Marine Zestacea, one of the most common
of which is
THE WHELK, .
A univalve shell inhabited by a gasteropod mollusk, or, we
should rather say, naturally so tenanted, for very frequently
it is taken possession of by the Soldier or Hermit Crab, which
having no hard covering to protect their soft plump bodies,
are obliged to take lodgings where they can get them, and
generally prefer the Whelk shell, of which we here give a
figure. |
This is one of the commonest of
our Marine Mollusks; it is called
by naturalists Bucemum undatum;
the first, or generic term, being
eye Es the Latin for a trumpet, and the
a ‘second, or specific name, meaning
—— waved, or, as we often say, undu-
lated. So we eall this the Waved Whelk; fishermen term it
the Conch, or the Buckie, and tell strange stories of its raven-
ous appetite and murderous propensities; how, with its spiny
tongue, situated at the end of a long flexible proboscis or
ROCK SHELLS. 27
trunk, it drills a hole in the shell of the Oyster, or other
testacean, and sucks out the contents; empty shells, so drilled,
are frequently found on the shore, and often, when the dredge
is let down into an oyster bed, it comes up time after time
filled with Whelks, of which such numbers are sometimes
taken, that they are sold to the farmers to be used as manure
for the soil. This mollusk is a favourite article of food with
the poorer classes of our land, but it is hard and indigestible.
The shell may frequently be found in large numbers among
the beach stones; it is strong and firm, from three to four
inches long, of a dirty yellowish white. There are two other
Whelks common upon our coasts—the Stone or Dog Whelk,
(B. lapillus,) from the Latin lapis—a stone, and B. retieulatum,
so called because the shell is reteculated, or marked with many
lines crossing each other, lke net-work; it comes from the
Latin reticulum—a net; hence also we have retieule—a small
work bag, at one time very much carried by ladies.
ROCK SHELLS,
Are so called on account of their rough and wrinkled forms;
they are nearly allied to the Whelks, to which they bear a
close resemblance. Several species are found on our shores,
the most common being the Humble Murex, (Jf despectus,)
from the Latin despecto—to despise; this is often used by the
fishermen for bait. Some of the foreign Rock Shells are very
curious and beautiful; three of them will be found on Plate
II.—Figs. 1, 2, and 38. The Common Thorny Woodcock,
(AL. tribulus,) from the French for trouble, whence we have
also tribulation, which is sometimes said to be a thorny path.
This curious shell is also called Venus’ Comb. It is found
in the Indian Ocean, from whence it is also brought. Fig. 2,
the Woodcock’s Head, (IL haustellum,) fromm the Latin haustus
—a draught; the bill of the Woodeock being adapted for suck-
ing. This term is also applied to insects that live by suction.
The shell, it will be seen, is destitute of spines, but it is
ribbed and beautifully marked. Fig. 3 is worthy of its name
28 ROCK SHELLS.
—the Royal Murex, (If regius,) from regno—to reign. It is
a splendid species, of the rich colouring of which, art can
give but a faint impression. It is brought from the western
coast of Central and South America, where, as well as in the
islands of the South Pacific, many new shells of the genus
Murex have been discovered.
One shell found on our own coast, often mistaken for a
Whelk, is the Pelican’s-foot Strombus, called in scientific
language, Strombus pes-pelicanus, which is but a Latinized form
of the English name. This shell varies greatly in shape in
different stages of its growth, and by an inexperienced con-
chologist, the young, middle-aged, and old Strombus, might be
taken for distinct species. In the Strombide family, so called
we know not why, the same word in Latin meaning a kind
of shell-fish, are some species which have produced pearls.
One member of the family which we sometimes see in collec-
tions, is a large and very beautiful shell; this is the Broad-
winged Strombus, (S. /atissimus,) probably from Jatesco—to
wax or grow broad, or large; ¢ss¢mus being in the superlative
degree, would indicate that this shell was very much so, as
we find it is, sometimes measuring as much as twelve inches
across. In Plate II, is a representation of this handsome shell,
greatly reduced in size, of course: see Fig. 4. We here
give a figure, as more curious than beautiful, of the Scorpion
Pteroceras, (P. scorpius,) which also belongs to the Strom-
bide family; as does the curious Chinese Spindle, (Rostellaria
rectirostris.) The generic name of the first of these species,
comes from the Greek Ptero, pronounced fero, meaning a wing,
PERIWINKLE. 29
and cerus—waxen. loth the generic and specific names of
the second refer to the peculiar conformation of the shell,
CHINESE SPINDLE.
being derived from the Latin, and meaning a straight line or
beak.
On Plate III, will be found the Imbricated Purpurea, (P. im-
bricata,) Fig. 1, which claims a close alliance with the Whelks.
The generic name has reference to the dye yielded by this, as
well as all the shells of the genus; the specific name comes
from the Latin ¢mbrex—the gutter-tile; thus imbricated, a term
often used in Natural History, means ridged, like the roof of
a house, where the tiles are placed to overlap each other, so
that the rain will run off. The Persian Purpura, or, as it is
called in Latin, Purpura Persica, Fig. 2, is another handsome
shell of this family group; its name indicates the place where
it is found. The other species described comes from South
America, and the P. dapillus, (the meaning of the specific name
has already been explained,) is common on our shores, being
found in great abundance on the rocks at low water. We read
in scripture, of Tyrian purple, and there is every reason to
suppose that the rich colour was obtained from these and other
shell-fish.
PERIWINKLE.
Tus is the commonest representative which we have of the
family Zurbinide, which comprehends, according
to Cuvier, all the species which have the shell
completely and regularly turbimated, that is, if
we translate the Latin word into English, twisted.
The little Periwinkle, (here he is,) is by no means
a handsome mollusk, but some of his relatives
are very beautiful as we shall presently show.
30 PERIWINKLE.
He is called by naturalists 7. ditéoreus, from littoralis—belong-
ing to the shore, and often eaten by boys and girls with great
relish; but he is not very digestible, and sometimes occasions
dangerous disorders. The Swedish peasants believe that when
the Periwinkle crawls high upon the rocks, a storm is brewing
from the south; but Linnzus quotes a Norwegian author to
shew that according to popular belief, it foretells the approach
of a land wind with a calm on shore. Man may learn much
of elemental changes from an observation of the movements
and habits of all living creatures, which are instructed by
God to provide for their safety and wants, and often perceive,
long before man himself does, the indications of calm and
tempest, rain and drought, etc. But our little Zurbo, what
of him? will you boil him, and pick out his curled-up form
with a pin? or let him go crawling about the rocks, feeding
upon the delicate earlier growth of marine vegetation? In
the former case, you will have to reject the little kind of
horny scale attached to his foot, which forms, when he retires
into his habitation, a closely-fitting door to make all snug?
Several species of this genus are found on our shores; one
of those is the Zurbo rudis, or Red Turbo, which has a very
thick periwinkle-like shell, about three-quarters of an inch
long; the colour is dull red, fawn, or drab.
Of the foreign Zurbing, sometimes called Turban Shells,
we will now introduce two or three species, which will be
found on Plate III. Fig. 3 is the Marbled Turbo, (7. marmo-
ratus,) from the Latin marmor—marble; a large handsome shell
well known to conchologists, and a native of the Indian seas.
Fig. 4 is the Twisted Turbo, (7° torquatus;) this shell, when
deprived of its outer coat or layer, 1s beautifully nacreous, or
if we may so speak, mother-of-pearly. The specimens which
have reached England were brought from King George’s Sound.
Fig. 5 is called Cook’s Turbo, (Z. Coodiw:) this is a handsome
South Sea shell, oftentimes of large size. It has been found
in great numbers on the coast of New Zealand.
On Plate IV, we have placed two very curiously formed
and marked shells, called Wentletraps, also belonging to the
family Zurbinide. The scientific name is Scalaria, trom the
Latin scala—a ladder, which the ribbed shells are supposed
to resemble. . Of this genus there are about eighty distinc:
TROCHUS. 31
species known; they are mostly deep-sea shells found in warm
latitudes, although several inhabit the European seas, and one,
the Common False Wentletrap, (S. communis,) Fig. 1,- may
often be picked up on our own shores. Fig. 2, the Royal
Staircase Wentletrap, is a rare and valuable shell, generally
brought from India and China; the scientific name is S. pretiosa,
given to it by the French Naturalist Lamarck, on account of
the high price which it fetched, pretiose, in Latin, meaning
costly, valuable. As much as £100 have been given for a
single specimen of this shell; and a fine one, especially if it
exceed two inches in length, yet commands a considerable sum,
although not nearly so much as that. A good deal hke the
False Wentletrap in general outline, is the Awl-shaped Tur-
ritella, found in the African and Indian Seas. This is the
7. terebra of naturalists; the first name referring to the turret
shape common to the genus, and the last being the Latin
word for an auger, or piercer. The Roseate Turritella, (7.
rosead,) 18 also sometimes seen in collections; the beautitul rosy
tant of the live shell changes to a duil red or brown, on the
death of the mollusk. é
TROCHUS, OR TOP-SHELL.
“Or the shelled Mollusca which the dredge ever and anon.
brings up,” says Mr. Gosse, in his delightful volume on the
Aquarium, or Aqua-vivartum, as the glass tank in which
living marine animals and vegetables are kept, is called, from
the Latin agua—water, and vivo—to live, “the Zrochi are among
the most conspicuous for beauty. The chief glory of this
genus is the richly-painted internal surface of their shells, in
which they are not excelled by any even of the true mar-
garitiferous or pearly bivalves.’’s
Of this YZrochde family, a. few of the members must be
introduced to our readers; it 1s rather a numerous one, con-
sisting of more than one hundred species, which are scattered
nearly all over the world, few seas being without some of
them. They are found at various depths, from near the sur-
face to forty-five fathoms down, creeping on rocks, sand, masses
of sea-weed, etc. We will first speak of these found on our
32 TROCHUS.
own shores, the two commonest, as well as the smallest
of which, are the Grey and the Spotted Trochi, scientifically
named 7. einerarius and JZ. maculata, the translation of the
first Latin specific name being ashy or ash-coloured, and that
of the second, spotted. Zrochus, in the same language signifies
a top, and has reference to the shape of most of these shells,
which are something like a boy’s whip-top.
Children on the coast sometimes call the last-named of the
above species Pepper-and-salt Shells, because in colour they
resemble the cloth so named. The Muddy-red Trochus, (7.
xiziphinus,) so called, perhaps, because in colour it resembles
the ziziphia, or fruit of the jujube tree, is also common with
us. This shell is about an inch long, of a grey tint dashed
with dark spots, these follow the line of the spiral turnings,
which are very regular, proceeding from the opening below
to the apex or point. Seen on shore, its colours are dull and
faint, but beneath the water, inhabited by a living mollusk,
it looks as though made of pearl, and studded with rubies;
the animal, too, is richly coloured, being, yellow with black
stripes.—See Plate 1V, Fig. 3.
Not so common as the last is another British mollusk of
this genus, called the Granulated Trochus, (7. granulatus.)
It is the larger, and, as many think, the more elegant shell
of the two, being in colour, a faint flesh tint or yellowish
white, shaded here and there with purple; the spiral lines
which encircle it are composed of small round knobs which
stand out like beads. _
There is a singular shell of this genus, called the Carrier
Trochus, (7. phorus;) it is generally found loaded with foreign
objects, such as shells, small stones, bits of coral, etc., which
it attaches to itself, and so goes about like a collector of
natural curiosities, with his cabinet on his back.
The Imperial Trochus, (7. imperialis,) Fig. 4, whose scientific
name explains itself, is one of the handsomest shells of the
genus; it is very rare, and has hitherto been found only
at New Zealand. Let us give our young readers a specimen
of the way in which scientific writers describe shells; thus,
this foreign Trochus, they tell us is “‘orbicularly conical, the
apex obtuse, the whorls turgidly convex, squamoso radiate at
the margin.’ This is quite a simple affair to some descriptions,
TROCHUS. ao
and simple in fact it is to one, who, by attentive study, has
become familiarized with the meaning of the terms. ‘To one also
who is acquainted with the Greek and Latin tongues, they will
be sufficiently plain, although he has never seen them apphed
before, for they are all derived from those dead languages, as
they are called, and so convey their own meaning to every
educated naturalist, no matter of what nation he may be; and
hence their chief value. It is not necessary for our readers
to trouble themselves about the meaning of such terms at
present; by and by it will be necessary for them to do so,
if they wish to prosecute the study of any natural science.
But about the Imperial Trochus, with its ‘‘orbicularly
conical’ shell—that term we may explain as round and cone-
like; a reference to Fig. 4, Plate IV, will show what is
meant by this more clearly than words can, and likewise ex-
hibit the beautiful markings of this species, with its ground
tint of rich violet brown. This beauty is often obscured by
calcarious incrustations and marine plants, showing that the
mollusk is sluggish in its habits—a slothful creature. So it is
with human beings, sloth covers and hides the good qualities
and virtues with an overgrowth at all times difficult to
remove, and oftentimes destructive of all that is* fair and good
in the character.—Children, be not slothful! The Obelisk
Trochus, (7. obeliscus,) 1s a rare white and green shell, some-
times seen in collections; it is of a conico-pyramidal form, not
remarkable for beauty, and is a native of the Indian seas.
Mr. Gosse speaks of the Tops and Winkles as among the
most useful inhabitants of the Aquarium; they mow down
with their rasping tongues the thick growth of Conferve
which would otherwise spread like a green curtain over the
glass walls of the tank, and obstruct the view of its inhabi-
tants. Here is this author’s description of the beautiful piece
of mechanism by which this work is effected: —‘“The appearance
and position of the organ would surprise any one who searched
for it for the first time, and as it is easily found, and as
Periwinkles are no rarities, let me commend it to your ex-
amination. The easiest mode of extracting it, supposing you
are looking for 7¢ alone, is to slit the thick muzzle between
the two tentacles, when the point of a needle will catch and
draw out what looks like a slender white thread, two inches
C
34 TROCHUS.
or more in length, one end of which is attached to the
throat, and the other, which is free, you will see coiled
in a beautiful spiral manner, within the cavity of the stomach.
By allowing this tiny thread to stretch itself on a plate of
glass, whicb is easily done by putting a drop of water on it
first, which may then be drained off and dried, you will find
that it is in reality an excessively delicate ribbon, of trans-
parent cartilaginous substance or membrane, on which are set
spinous teeth of glassy texture and brilliancy. They are
perfectly regular, and arranged in three rows, of which the
middle ones are three-pointed, while on each of the outer
rows a three-pointed tooth alternates with a larger curved one,
somewhat boat-like in form. All the teeth project from the
surface of the tongue on hooked curves, and all point in the
same direction.”
And with this curious piece of mechanism the little Winkle
works away and cuts down swathe after swathe of the minute
vegetation, just as a mower does the meadow grass; only the
mollusk eats as he goes, and so gets payment for his labour;
the man has it in another and to him more useful form. We
might tell a very long story about these Tops and Winkles,
which are nearly related to each other, but must now pass
on to describe the rest of the shells on Plate IV, which
are the Perspective Solarium, (S. perspectivum,) Fig. 5, the
generic name comes from so/—the sun, and viewed perspec-
tively, that is, in such a position that the whole top of the
shell is at once presented to the view, looking like a flat
surface, it presents a circular appearance, marked with rings
and rays like representations of the sun sometimes do.
The Variegated Solarium, (S. variegatum,) Fig. 6, is a small
but very pretty shell, somewhat rare. The mollusk is remark-
able on account of the singular shape of its operculum, which
differs from that of all other species; it is of a cone-shape, and
covered from top to bottom with what are called membranous
lamellae, that appear to stand out like little shelves winding
up spirally. This singular form of operculum has been long
known to naturalists, but it is not until lately that they have
discovered to what species of testacean it belonged. Let us
here explain that operculus is the Latin for a-cover or lid.
30
CONES, VOLUTES, MITRES, AND OLIVES.
THESE are names given by collectors to certain classes of
univalve shells distinguished by peculiarities of formation, more
or less distinct. We shall describe two or three of each, that
our readers may have some idea of the meaning of the terms
which are often used by those who speak or write on con-
chology
The family of Cones, called Conidz, is an extensive one,
considerably above two hundred species having been discovered.
Many of them are very beautiful both in shape and colour,
so that they are highly valued by collectors; they are prin-
cipally found in the southern and tropical seas, upon sandy
bottoms, at depths varying from a few feet to seventeen fathoms.
The shells are generally “thick and solid, rolled up, as it were,
into a conical form; the most familiar illustration that can be
given of this form is a sugar-loaf, which all these shells more
or less resemble in general outline, as thus—
TT WER Be
HN OR ais
f
nt | /
mi}
WL MH Whe
Z EEE
SS
Cones are either plain or coronated, that is, crowned, having
rows of projections round the top of the shell, like the second
of the above figures; and this forms a mark of division into
two classes, although these classes often run, as it were, one
into the other; some plain cones having shght irregularities of
surface, and some crowned ones being very nearly plain.
The Common, or Ordinary Cone, (Conus generalis,) Plate V,
Fig. 1, is an elegantly-shaped and beautitully-marked shell,
having much the appearance of being carved out of some rare
kind of marble. The Lettered Cone, (Conus littoralis,) Fig. 2,
appears to be scribbled over with Hebrew, Greek, or Arabic
characters, and almost every species has something peculiar
in its markings; clouds and veins, and dots, and stripes, and
bands, of every conceivable shape and mode of arrangement,
af
36 VOLUTES.
may be met with in these shells, whose surface, when the
epidermis, or outer skin is removed, bears a beautiful polish.
Curious names have been given to some of them, such, for
instance, as the High Admiral, Vice Admiral, and Guinea
Admiral, which indicate the rank they hold in the estimation
of collectors. From five to twenty guineas is the price at
which good and rare cones have been valued, and one, the
Conus cedo nulli, which may be translated, the Cone second to
none, has fetched the enormous sum of three hundred guineas.
It must not be supposed that these shells exhibit all their
beauties when, inhabited by a carnivorous, or flesh-eating
mollusk, they move slowly about, or lie for a time motionless
among the rocks and sand-beds of the ocean. The before-
mentioned epidermis, which is the Latin for the outer skin
of the human body, covers them like a cloak or mantle,
which is the name it bears among naturalists. Much careful
labour is required to bring them to a fit state for cabinet
shells.
Votutes form an extensive family of shells under the name
Volutine. he greater part are natives of tropical seas, and
dwell far down so that they are seldom found on the coast,
except after storms. There are a few European species, but
these are not remarkable for beauty, as most of the others
are. The generic name signifies twisted, or rather wreathed,
as flowers or leaves might be, about some central object. In
these shells the spire is generally short, as it is in many cones,
sometimes scarcely apparent; the form is usually elegant, and
the markings often striking and handsome. On Plate V, will
be found three examples—Fig. 3 is the Undulated Volute,
(V. undulata,) the Latin for a little wave is wndula, and these
marks are like the lines caused by the flowing of the waves
on a sandy shore: this shell is found chiefly in the South
Pacific; the animal which inhabits it is prettily marked with
zebra-like stripes. Fig. 4 is called the Pacific Volute, (V.
Pacificus;) the shape, it will be seen, is somewhat different,
being more angular, and it is without the waved lines. Fig.
5, the Bat Volute, (V. vespertilio,) is more decidedly knobbed
or spiked, approaching nearly to the shape of some of the
coronated ones. This species is found in the Indian seas;
the specific name is the Latin for a bat.
MITRES. OLIVES. 37
Mirrrs; these are usually considered as a genus, or branch
of the Volute family; the scientific name is mitra, the form
is generally long, slender, and pointed—something lke the
bisnop’s mitre, hence the common name of the genus. In the
Episcopal Mitre, (JZ. episcopalis,) Plate VI, Fig. 1, we see this
form in its greatest perfection; this is a handsome shell found
in the Indian seas, and on the coasts of the South Sea Islands.
The mollusk is remarkable for a long proboscis, double the
length of the shell, the extremity of which swells into a club
form, and has an oval orifice or opening: the specific name
episcopalis, comes from the Latin, and means of, or like a
bishop. The Tanned Mitre, (Jf. adusta,) from the Latin
adustus—burned or parched, is, what is called fusiform and
turretted, that is, shaped like a spindle, and having a
spire or turret-lke termination. The streaks of colour are
transverse, that is, running the length of the shell, or in
other words, they are longitudinal; this, too, comes from the
South Sea Islands. Fig. 2 is the Wrinkled Mitre, (Jf. corru-
gata,) from the Latin corrugo—to wrinkle; it is very different
both in’ shape and markings, from the last species; the whorls,
it will be seen, are angulated or pointed above, and the lower
part of the shell is much larger than the spiral or upper
portion. It is a true mitre nevertheless, although not just such
a one as a bishop would like to wear. It inhabits the Indian
Ocean, the coast of New Guinea, ete.
Ortves; these, for richness of colour and brilliancy of effect,
will bear comparison with any genus of shells. Naturalists
speak of them collectively as Oliwine; they belong to the
~ Volute family, and are said to number about eighty species.
Most of those which have reached this country, have come
from the Mauritius, where they catch them with lines baited
with portions of Cuttle-fish. We have here depicted two of
them, namely, the Figured Olive, Fig. 8, (Oliva textilina,)
from the Latin ¢extilus, which is woven or plaited; and the Ruddy
Olive, Fig. 4, (O. sanguinolenta,) from sanguis—blood.
We must now bring our notice of the Univalves to a con-
clusion; there are several genera, and many very curious and
beautiful species which we have been unable to notice at all,
and of those which we have, a short account only could be
given; sufficient however, as we trust, to interest our readers
e
38 COWRIES.
in the subject, and induce them to continue the study of it
into larger works. Before leaving this division of shells, we
would call their attention to one of its greatest ornaments,
that is the Ventricose Harp Shell, (//arpa ventricosa,) from the
Latin ventriculus—the stomach, applied to this shell on account
of its swelled or inflated shape. Nothing, however, can be
more elegant than the whole form, nor more beautiful than
the markings of this lovely species, (see Plate VI, Fig. 5,)
which belongs properly to the Whelk family.
©
COW LILES.
Or Cowries we have already spoken in our chapter on the
Uses of Shells, they are among the commonest of our testaceous
ornaments, and are remarkable, especially the foreign kinds,
for richness and diversity of colour, and the high polish which
they bear. The native species are small plain shells, com-
monly called Pigs, from some real or fancied resemblance which
they bear to the swine; they are “pretty little white ribbed
shells, and are tolerably plentiful on various parts of the
British coasts. There are three kinds, namely, the Louse Pig,
or Nun Cowry, the Flesh-coloured, and European Pig Cowries.
The first of these is of a pale reddish colour, with six square
black spots on the back; the second is a beautiful rose tint;
and the third is ash-coloured or pinkish, with three black dots,
and a white streak down the back. The Money Cowry,
( Cyprea moneta,) used as current coin in many parts of India,
as well as on the coast of Guinea, is a yellow and white shell,
with a single band of the former colour; it is small of size,
and is sometimes called the Trussed Chicken, for the same
reason as the term Pigs is applied to its British relatives.
These Cowries are obtained principally about the Phillippine
Islands, the Maldive Islands, and the coast of Congo, where,
after high tides, the women collect them in baskets mixed
with sand, from which they are afterwards separated and
cleaned, when they are ready for the market.
They are only useful as coin so long as they remain un-
broken. The value of a single shell is very small, as the
COWRIES. 39
following table will show:—Four Cowries make one gunder;
twenty Gunders one punn; four Punns one anna; four Annas
one cahaun; and four Cahauns one rupee. The value of the
latter coin is equal to two shillings and threepence, English
money, and this would be exchangeable for five thousand one
hundred and twenty Cowries; so that it would never do to
pay large sums in this kind of coin: a waggon would be
required to convey a few pounds with. In this country the
Money Cowries are frequently used as markers or counters in
social games; they are generally white, in shape rather broad
and flat, being much spread out round the edges, which are
slightly puckered, like frills. Here are two figures of the shell,
exhibiting the back and front view.
On Plate VII, will be found a group of other Foreign Cowries,
most of which will be recognized as familiar ornaments of the
mantle and sideboard. Fig. 1, is the Spotted or Leopard Cowry,
sometimes also called the Tiger Cowry, (C. tegris,) which, in
the earlier stages of its growth, is simply marked with broad
bands of lighter colour across the shell. Fig. 2, the Map Cowry,
(C. mappa,) curiously marked and shaded, so as to resemble
a coloured map; there are several varieties of this beautiful
shell, such as the rosy and the dark variety from the Pearl
Islands, in the Indian Ocean; the Citron and Dwarf Rich-
mouthed variety, from the Mauritius. Fig. 3, the Mole Cowry,
(C. talpa,) the last word being the Latin for a mole, is of a
more slender form than most other species of the Cypreide
family, so called on account of their beauty, Cyprea being a
name of Venus, the goddess of beauty. Any one who has scen
a mole, must be struck with the resemblance of its general
40 COWRIES.
outline to this shell, of which there is a darker-coloured
variety of somewhat stouter form, called eawstws—burned or
scorched. Of the Poached-egg Cowries there are several species,
the most common is called by naturalists Ovulum ovum, Fig. 4,
from ovum—an egg; the back of this shell is much elevated
and rounded; it is smooth and white; the inside is orange
brown. Some of the Poached-egg group are of a more slender
and angular shape, as, for instance, that called the Gibbous,
(0. Gibbosa ; >) the moon when more than half-full, is called
gibbous, that is, rounded unequally, as this shell.
Few shells undergo greater changes, both of shape
and colour, during the. process of growth, than the
Cowries, which are called in France Porcelaines,
on account of their high polish and brilliant hues;
a single species in different stages of development,
might well be, and often is, taken for distinct
shells. Much might be said about the Mollusks
which inhabit them, but our present subject has
rather to do with their outer covering than their
internal structure. The most rare and valuable, if not the
most beautiful, of these Cowries, is the C. aurora, or aurantium,
Morning-dawn, or Orange Cowry, a perfect specimen of which
has been sold for fifty guineas. There is very curious
shell called the Common Weaver’s Shuttle, (Oculum volva,)
generally included in the Cyprea family; of this a represent-
ation will be found on Plate VII, Fig. 5. This is brought
trom China.
41
BLYALVES.
AcrepHatous Motiusks, with Bivalve Shells, is the name
given by modern naturalists to the class of animals of which
we have now to speak; the only one of these terms which
will require explanation is the first; it comes from the Greek,
and means headless, so an Acephalan is a molluscous animal
without a head, as
THE OYSTER,
Which may be considered as the King of Bivalves; his palace,
to be sure, is somewhat rough and rugged outside, but within,
its walls are smooth and polished, lustrous and iridescent, and
altogether beautiful; of a nacrous or pearly appearance, now
flushing into a rose tint, now fading into pure white, and
adorned sometimes with goodly pearls of price; truly this
monarch of the Conchifers has a habitation worthy of a prince,
wherein he lives in right royal state. Our readers may smile
perhaps at the idea of the solitary Oyster doing this, down
there on his mud bank or rocky anchorage ground, shut up
in his dirty-looking shells, and holding, as it seems, commune
with no one, not even his fellow mollusks; how can he be
said to live in royal state, or indeed any state at all, except
in a most weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable one? And this
only shows how erroneously those often judge who do so hastily,
and from first appearances.
If we take a peep through a microscope, under the direc-
tion of a naturalist named Rymer Jones, we shall see that
“the shell of an Oyster is a world occupied by an innumer-
able quantity of animals, compared to which the Oyster itself
is a colossus. The liquid enclosed between the shell of the
Oyster contains a multitude of embryos, covered with trans-
parent scales, which swim with ease; a hundred and twenty
of these embryos, placed side by side, would make an inch
in breadth. This liquid contains besides, a great variety of
animalcule, five hundred times less in size, which give out
a phosphoric ight. Yet these are not the only inhabitants of
this dwelling—there are also three distinct species of worms.”’
42 THE OYSTER.
Let us see if there are any hard words here that want
explaining before we go any further. The first we stumble
upon is Colossus, which comes from the Latin, and means a
great image or statue, like that which ancient historians tell
us once bestrode the entrance to the harbour of Rhodes. Zim-
bryo comes from the Greek, and means something small and
unfinished, that is to expand or grow into a more perfect form,
as the seed into a plant. Animalcule, are minute or very
small animals, such as cannot be distinguished without the
help of a microscope, hence they are sometimes called micro-
scopic animals; this word comes from the Latin animalis, which
means having life. Phosphoric signifies luminous, or giving out
light. The Greek name of the morning star is Phospha. In
Latin, Phosphorus is a term applied to a substance which
chemists extract from bones and other animal matter, and
which when exposed to air burns with a pale blue lght
like that emitted by the glow-worm. Many of the oceanic
or sea animaleule are exceedingly phosphorescent, so that, by
night, the waves appear like billows of flame. Of this lumi-
nosity of the ocean, as it is termed, we shall have to speak
on another occasion. We will now return to the Oyster, who,
it will be seen, is by no means so solitary in his bivalve
palace as might be supposed. He has his torch-bearers, and
other attendants, quite a host of them, no doubt magnificently
dressed, if we could but see them to advantage, and well
instructed in the several duties which they have to perform.
Oh yes, certainly, as the Irish poet has said,
“Of all the Conchiferous shell-fish,
The Oyster ts surely the King;”
Shall we continue the quotation? and say
*‘Arrah Mick, call the people who sell fish,
And tell them a dozen to bring;
For it’s I that intend to demonstrate,
The creature’s phenomena strange,
Its functions to set every one straight,
And exhibit their structure and range.”
Searcely will our limited space permit us to do this, but a
few of the most remarkable particulars about this common
THE OYSTER. 43
Acephalan, we feel called upon to set before our readers.
First, then, it belongs to the class Conchifera; this is a word
which we must stop to examine a little; it seems to come
from the Latin concha, which means a shell-fish with two
shells, in other words a bivalve mollusk. Second, our Oyster
belongs to the class Pectinide. Now pecten is the Latin for
a comb, and this class includes those bivalve shells whose
edges are toothed, or, as it is said, pectinated; in the scallop
and the cockle shells this peculiarity 1s more observable than
in those of other members of the class, and these form the
typical, or so to speak, pattern genus, pecten. Thirdly, the
Common Oyster is a Jonomyarian Conchifer. Ah! that’s some-
thing like a name for the acephaloid monarch! » Look at these
two words, mono-myarian, di-myarian, you know of course
that mony-syllable means one syllable, and dis-syllable means
two. You sometimes hear of a person who leads a monotanous
hfe, and you think perhaps of the Oyster shut up in his
shell all alone, one by himself; this notion you now know to
be a false one; although it is true that he has but one ab-
ductor muscle, and therefore belongs to the division of the
Pectinide family called Monomyaria, while the Pearl Oyster
has two, and therefore belongs to that termed Dimyaria. If,
as they say, there is reason in the roasting of eggs, surely
there must be in the names given to the classes and divisions
of shells. We hope to have succeeded in making the why
and the wherefore in this case somewhat plain;—one—two—
and away we go out of this maze of hard names. But what
about the abductor muscle, above spoken of? well this must
be explained, abduce, coming from the Latin abduco, means to
separate, to draw away, hence we have adduction. During the
life of an Oyster, the usual and natural state of the shell is
that of being kept open for a little distance, to allow the
water necessary for its nourishment and respiration to flow in
and out; but as a security against danger, it was necessary
to furnish the animal with the means of rapidly closing the
shell, and retaining the valves in a closed state. . These actions
being onty occasional, yet requiring considerable force, are
effected by means of a muscular power, for which purpose
one or two, or sometimes more strong muscles are placed be-
tween the valves, their fibres passing directly across from the
44 THE OYSTER.
inner surface of one to that of the other, and firmly attached
to both, and these are called the abductor muscles, because
their office is to draw or pull; how strongly they do this
those whose business it is to open Oysters can best tell; if
the animal within were not alive, the process would not be
a difficult one, as in that case the muscles would be relaxed,
and the shell would come open of itself, so that actually
people who eat Oysters directly they are opened, swallow
them “all alive-O!”
If a pair of the shells from which the delicious morsel has
been extracted, be taken in the hand, it may be noticed thai
one is much thinner, smoother, and flatter than the other;
this is the side most exposed to the action of the water;
the rougher and rounder side is that which is attached to
the rock, or other substance té® which the animal forms an
attachment, that is usually life-long. The two portions of the
shell are joined together by a hinge of curious workmanship,
which is formed of the inner layer of the shell, and strength-
ened by a lhgament which is wonderfully elastic; when the
shell is drawn together by the abductor muscles, the ligament
is at full stretch, and as soon as they relax at all, it con-
tracts and causes the shell to gape. ‘This process is repeated
as often as may be necessary for the safety and sustenance of
the animal within, whose mouth is situated at the narrowest
part of its habitation, namely, near the joint of the hinge,
which connects its upper and under shell. The anatomical
structure of the Oyster is more perfect than would be sup-
posed, from its apparently low state of organization; it has a
heart, liver, and intestinal canal, and a bag near the mouth,
which answers the purpose of a stomach. Its breathing organs
are gills, closely resembling those of most other fish; it has
little vessels which convey the bile from the stomach to the
liver, and may perhaps be subject to bilious attacks, as well
as those who swallow this curious piece of organization at a
mouthful, without thinking at all of the goodly structure they
are demolishing. There is the tiny heart with its series of
blood-vessels, just as perfect as in the larger animals. ‘There
are the nerves in the shape of minute feelers, which appear
to be acutely sensible not only of actual contact with foreign
bodies, but also of sounds and movements from without. A
THE OYSTER. 45
very nice sense of feeling appears to reside in what is called
the beard, in scientific language bissus; this is a kind of double
fringe to the two lobes of the mantle, or sac, as it is called,
which envelopes the body of the animal, and floats free from
the shell, except just at the part nearer the valve where it is
attached.
We have just spoken of the beard of the oyster, and this
reminds us of a conundrum which may serve to amuse our
readers, and enliven these dry details a little. Why is an
Oyster the most anomalous, that is strange, contradictory, crea-
ture in existence? Do you give it up? Well then it is be-
cause
‘Tt wears a beard without any chin,
And leaves its bed to be tucked in,’
Again, by this allusion to the “tucking in” of Oysters, a
phrase more expressive than polite, we have recalled to memory
the saying of a quaint old author, that they are “ungodly,
uncharitable, and unprofitable meat; ungodly, because they are
eaten without grace; uncharitable, because they leave nothing
but shells; and unprofitable because they must swim in wine.”
Not generally, however, are they eaten in this luxurious manner,
a little pepper and vinegar is all they commonly get in the
way of sauce, and those who swallow them thus accompanied,
seem to do so with infinite relish. A very long chapter, if
not a whole book, might be written about the historical asso-
clations of Oysters, for which our country has been famous, as
far back as the time of the first Roman invasion; much too
might be said about the Oyster beds and fisheries, which give
employment to thousands of our industrious population, but
all this has so little to do with natural history, that we can
find no excuse for dwelling upon it here. It is quite within
the range of our subject, however, to state that the ‘‘spat”’
or ‘“‘spawn’”’ of the Oyster is cast about the beginning of May:
at first it resembles a drop of greenish tallow, but by the
aid of the microscope it may be seen to consist of a great
number of minute particles, each of which is an egg, and
will by-and-by become a perfect fish; these increase in size
very rapidly, and after floating about for a while, sink to the
bottom, and become attached to rock or some other substance,
46 THE OYSTER.
in which position, if not violently detached or removed, they
complete their growth, and live out the term of their natural
life. Their food is minute animalcule, and microscopic vege-
tation, on the nature of which their flavour greatly depends.
They have many enemies besides man; the whelk, and the
crab, the sea-star, or ‘‘five fingers,” and the large drum-fish,
which swallows them almost by the bushel, shells and all; these
help to thin the Oyster-beds, and make the dredger’s labours
less remunerative than they would otherwise be. Here is a
picture of one as he stands in his boat just about to throw
his dredge into the sandy bottom, where he knows the de-
licious testaceans do, or ought to, he most thickly. The dredge,
which is a triangular iron frame with a net over the bottom,
will naturally sink, and when the line to which it is attached
ceases to run out, the dredger will put his boat in motion,
and draw it thus over the Oyster-bed, and then pull it up
filled, it may be, with little fat ‘‘“Miltons,” or large ‘‘Colchesters,”’
or such other kind as the spot is known to yield.
The Latin for Oyster is Ostrea, and that is the name given to
a genus of the Pectinide family, comprising beside the O. edulis,
or Common Oyster, many other species. £dulis means eatable.
Some naturalists divide these Ostraceans into two groups, first
with simple or undulated, but not plaited valves; second, those
which have the borders of their valves distinctly plaited.
THE OYSTER. 47
To the first group belong the Common Oyster, and be-
tween thirty and forty other living species which are found
principally in warm and. temperate latitudes. In the Polar
ocean none have been discovered, and in the hotter climates
they are most abundant, being found in large beds or banks
near the coast, and often attached to rocks and even to trees
which grow by the water, so that the accounts of some old
travellers who stated that they saw Oysters growing upon
trees, were not so false as many supposed them.
The annexed figure is that of the Cock’s-comb Oyster,
Ostrea Crista-Galli, a native of the Indian Seas, and a very *
remarkable shell, on account of its crooked or deeply indented
form; the specific name means cock’s-crest. The Chinese
\\\\ MN
VN
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y Samal
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Window Oyster, called Placuna Placenta, which we may, if
48 THE OYSTER.
we like, translate into a pleasant or agreeable cake; the shell,
it will be seen, is round like a cake, and its smoothness and
regularity of form render it agreeable to look upon; this species
too comes from the Indian Seas, where it is taken on sandy
bottoms. The American Spiny Oyster, or Spondylus Americanus,
brings us into another family, that of the Water Clams, called
by naturalists Spondylide; with the spines stuck out every
way, and no way in particular, it looks like a head of hair
greatly in need of the assistance of one of its pectinated
relatives. The specific name of this curious shell explains
itself; the generic name comes from the Latin Spond. A
a kind of serpent.
Passing over the family JJalleide, or Hammer Oysters, we
come to the Meleagrinidé, or Pearl Oysters, of which Fig. 1,
Plate VIII, is an example, this is the Jf Margaritifera of
naturalists, the mollusk in whose shells pearls are chiefly found.
Here are two long words J/eleagris is the Latin for a Guinea
or Turkey Hen, to the markings of whose plumage naturalists
might have imagined the shells of this genus bore some re-
semblance. There was, says the mythology, a celebrated hero
of antiquity named Meleaga, but we can hardly suppose that
there is any association between his name and that of a genus
ot Oysters, of which edible we read the ancients were very
fond, and they are said to have had a fancy not only for the
mollusk itself, but also for the pearls found in its shell, which
at their luxurious banquets they dissolved in wine, to make
the draughts richer, or at all events more expensive; and this
PEARLS. 49
brings us to the specific name of the Pearl Oyster, Margaritifera,
which comes from the Latin JJargarita—a pearl; the F rench
use this word slightly altered in the spelling, thus Marguerite
for both a daisy, and
A PEARL.
Tuts jewel, so highly valued for its chaste beauty, is but
a secretion of animal matter, resulting from the efforts of some
uneasy mollusk, annoyed by a foreign substance, which has
found its way into his habitation, to make the best of an un-
avoidable evil by enclosing it in a soft smooth covering. Let
us imitate the Oyster, and when annoyed or afflicted, by. meek-
ness and patience, and christian charity, strive to turn our
vexations and troubles into “‘pearls of great price,” and “goodly
pearls,” like those mentioned in scripture.
It is on the north-west coast of the Island of Ceylon, in
the Indian Ocean, that the Pearl Oyster most abounds, and
there it is that the Pearl fishery is conducted in the most
extensive, systematic, and ome manner; this fishing com-
mences at the beginning of March, and upwards of two hundred
boats are usually employed in it; in each of these boats are
- ten divers, who go down to the Oyster-beds, five at a time,
and so relieve each other; there are besides thirteen other men
who manage the boat, and attend to the divers. Altogether
it is computed that from fifty to sixty thousand persons,
in some way engaged in the fishery, or preparation, or sale
of the pearls, assemble at and near the scene of operations,
which must be indeed a busy one. The number of Oysters
taken during the period of the fishing, which is about a month,
must be prodigious. One boat has been known to bring on
shore, in the day, as many as thirty-three thousand; they are
placed i in heaps, and allowed to remain until they become putrid,
when they undergo a very elaborate process of washing and
separating from the shells, which are carefully examined and
deprived of their pearly treasures. The stench arising from
the decomposed animal matter is described as horrible, and
the whole process filthy and loathsome in the extreme; yet
out of the slime and mud and disgusting effluvia, come every
year gems of inestimable value, calculated to adorn the brow
: D
50 PEARLS.
of beauty, and form ornaments the most pure and delicate
that can be imagined. For the exclusive right of fishing on
the banks of Ceylon, for a single season, as much as £120,000
have been paid to the English government by one person, who
sublets boats to others. Pearls vary greatly in value accor-
ding to their colour and size; those which are perfectly white
are the most valuable; next to these are those which have
a yellowish tinge; the smallest kind, used for various orna-
mental purposes, are called seed pearls, the refuse is made
into a kind of confection called chimum, highly relished by
Chinese epicures. A single Oyster will sometimes contain seyeral
pearls, which are generally embedded in the body of the ani-
mal, but are sometimes fixed to the shell; it is recorded of
one rich mollusk, that there were found in his possession no
less than one hundred and fifty precious jewels; he must have
been a miser, or perhaps he had taken them in pledge from
his less provident neighbours.
From the earliest time, pearls have been considered as
valuable ornaments; they are mentioned in the book of Job,
(see chap. xxviii, verse 18th.,) and are often alluded to by
Greek and Roman writers. Various attempts have been
made to imitate them, and one mode of producing them, prac-
tised, it is said, more than a thousand years ago, is still
carried on in China. In the shells of Pearl Oysters, holes
are bored, into which pieces of iron are introduced; these
wounding and irritating the animal, cause it to deposit coat
upon coat of pearly matter over the wounded part, and so
the pearl is formed. Artificial pearls are made of hollow
glass globules or little globes, covered on the inside with a
liquid called pearl-essence, and filled up with white wax.
Historians speak of an ancient traffic in native pearls carried
on by this country; and in modern times, British pearls of
considerable value have been discovered, one not many years
since, by a gentleman who was eating oysters at Winchester,
was valued at two hundred guineas. Generally, however, the
pearls of this country are inferior in the two requisites of
colour and size.
Interesting accounts of Pearls and Pearl-fishing, will be
found in “the Penny,” and ‘Saturday Magazines,” and many
other works easy of access. There our young readers may
MUSSEL AND COCKLE. 3 |
learn of the perils and dangers to which the poor divers are
exposed from the voracious sharks, which hover about the
fishing grounds, and make a dash at their victim, heedless
of the written charms, with which the priest or shark-charmer
has provided him previous to his descent, and of much more
than we can find space here to tell. All we can now do is
to give the portrait, as drawn by Thomas Hood, of a lady
who takes up her abode in all the pearl-producing bivalves,
and who is therefore, perhaps on this account, called
THE MOTHER OF PEARL.
THE MUSSEL AND THE COCKLE.
Ir is in the Dimyaria division of the Conchifera that we
must look for these familiar bivalves, the Mussel, or, as it is
sometimes spelled, Muscle, and the Cockle; the former called
in scientific language Mytilus, which in Latin means simply
a shell-fish, and the latter Cardium, which may have reference
to the hinge of this bivalve, or the heart-shape assumed by
several of the species; cardo, in Latin, signifying the hinge of
a gate, and cardesco, a stone in the shape of a heart.
It is to the Mytilde family that we shall first direct our
52 MUSSEL AND COCKLE.
attention, and here we find the Common or Edible Mussel,
(Mf, edule,) and many other species, in all of which the shell
is more or less elongated, or lengthened out, and pointed at
one end. The members of this family are abundant on most
rocky coasts, where facilities are afforded for the mollusks to
moor themselves to rocks, stones, and other substances covered
at high-water, but left dry by the retreating tide. They are
not, however, confined to shores of this description, but are
sometimes found in vast numbers on low sandy or pebbly flats,
which run far out into the sea; these are called beds of Mussels,
and are, like the Oyster grounds, specially cared for and pro-
tected. As a ship by its cable, so commonly the Mussel, by
its bissus or beard, is made fast to its anchorage-ground, be it
pebbly or sandy beach, or jutting rock. Sometimes, however,
the mollusk travels, and this is how it manages to do so; it
has a stout fleshy foot, in shape something lke that of a
chubby child, and this it can advance about two inches be-
yond the edge of the shell, then fixing the point of it to a
piece of rock or any other body, and contracting it, the shell
is drawn onward, and sure, though slow, progress is made in
any desired direction. The Pinna, as the marine Mussel is
called, has a foot which is cylindrical in shape, and has at
the bottom a round tendon, almost as long as itself, the use
of which appears to be to gather in and retain the numerous
threads with which, when inhabiting the shores of tempestuous
seas, it lashes itself fast to the fixed objects around; these
threads are fastened at various points, and then drawn tight
by the animal, whose instinct teaches it that its brittle shell
would soon be broken in pieces, if suffered to roll hither and
thither at the mercy of the waves.
The Mussel has a very curious method of preparing its
cable for this service; it 1s not woven, nor spun, nor drawn
out of the body, hke the web of the spider, but produced in
a liquid form, and cast in a mould which is formed by a
eroove in the foot, extending from the root of the tendon to
the upper extremity; the sides of this groove are formed so
as to fold over it and form a canal, into which the glutinous
or sticky secretion is poured; there it remains until it has —
dried into a solid thread, when the end of it is carried out
by the‘ foot, and applied to the object to which it is to be
MUSSEL AND COCKLE. 53
attached; the canal is then opened through its whole length
to free the thread, and closing again is ready for another
casting; as if conscious how much depends upon the security
ef his lines, the animal tries every one after he has fixed
it by swinging itself round so as to put the threads fully on
the stretch; when once they are all firmly fixed, it scems to
have no power of disengaging itself from them; the lquid
matter out of which they are formed, is so very glutinous,
or glue-like, as to attach itself firmly to the smoothest bodies.
The process of producing it is a slow one, as it does not ap-
pear that the Pina can form more than four or five in the
course ef twenty-four hours. When the afimal is disturbed
in its operations, it sometimes forms these threads too hastily;
they are then more slender than those produced at leisure,
and, of a consequence, weaker. On some parts of the Med-
iterranean coast, as in Sicily, gloves and other articles have
been manufactured from the threads of this mollusk; they
resemble very fine silk in appearance.
The foot of the Cockle, of which we here give a figure, is
commonly employed in scooping out the
mud or sand, beneath which it conceals
itself; this useful limb assumes the form
of a shovel, hook, or any other instru-
ment necessary for the purpose; it ap-
pears to be a mass of muscular fibres,
and to possess great power. As a boat-
man in shallow water sends his vessel
along by pushing against the bottom with his _ boat-hook,
precisely so does Mr. Cardium travel; he doubles up his foot
into a club, and by an energetic use of it as a propeller,
makes considerable headway along the surface of the soft sand
beneath the waters. In this way, too, some members of the
genus solen force their way through the sand; while those
called Zellina spring to a considerable distance, by first folding
the foot into a small compass, and then suddenly expanding
it, closing the shell at the same time with a loud snap; so
that you see these sober-looking mollusks are sometimes fro-
licksome fellows; this is an enforcement of the lesson, judge
not by appearances.
Some of the species, both of the Mussel and Cockle families,
54 MUSSEL AND COCKLE.
have very beautiful shells. We give a representation of one
of each, on Plate VIII. Fig. 2 is the Magellanic Mytilus, (Jf
Magellanicus,) found chiefly in the Straits of Magellen; it is
generally four or five inches long, the shells when polished
are very brilliant, the deep purple colour changing into rich
violet, as they are held in different lights. In most cabinets
the large fan-like delicate shells of the genus Pimna may be
observed; the largest species is that called Pinna flabellum,
taken in the Mediterranean; it sometimes exceeds two feet
in length. The first of these names is a Latin word signifying,
besides a shell-fish, the fin of a fish, or the wing feathers of
a bird—hence the term pinion; it refers to the fin-like or wing-
like shape of this shell. J labellum means a fan, referring
probably to the bissus of the mollusk, which is fine and glossy,
hike silk, and very abundant.
Many pretty specimens for figuring might be selected from
the Naide, a family of Fresh-water Mussels, so called from
the Naiades, fabulous divinities of the streams and _ rivers.
The shells of many of these, which are of considerable thick-
ness, are lined with the most brilliant nacre, and in these,
as might be expected, pearls are sometimes found. One species,
abundant in some English rivers, called the Mya Ilargaritifera,
or, as some say, Uno elongates, has long been celebrated for
this valuable production. It was most likely with pearls from
this mollusk that Julius Czesar adorned a breast-plate, which
he dedicated to Venus, and hung up in her temple. The
rivers Esk and Conway were formerly celebrated as British
pearl-fishing grounds; a Conway pearl was presented by her
chamberlain, Sir Richard Wynn, of Gwyder, to Catharine,
Queen of Charles the Second; and in the royal crown of
Britain this jewel is said still to occupy a place. Sir John
Hawkins, the circumnavigator of the globe, held a patent for
the pearl-fishery of the River Irt, in Cumberland. The rivers
of Tyrone and Donegal, in Ireland, have, or had, their pearl-
bearing Mussels; we read of one which weighed thirty-six
carats, (a carat is nearly four grains,) but not being of perfect
shape and colour, it was only valued at forty pounds. We
also read of another purchased by Lady Glenlealy, for £10,
and found to be so perfect and admirable, that £80 was
afterwards offered for it, and refused.
MUSSEL AND COCKLE. 55
These Warde have not a bissus like the Marine Mussels,
they are therefore never attached to one object; they use their
foot as a propeller in traversing the muddy floor of the pond
or river, and they have a very funny way of getting along
indeed; first, they open the valves of the shell, put out the
foot, and after some little hard work, manage to set themselves
up on edge; they then proceed by a series of jerks, leaving
a deepish furrow in the mud behind them.
We will now go to Fig. 3, the Spined Cytherea, the Cy-
therea or Venus Dione of naturalists; the meaning of the term
is the mother of Venus, who was, as you will remember, the
goddess of beauty, given to this shell perhaps because it is
entitled to occupy a place at the head of the Cytherea, a
genus of the Cardiide, or Cockle, family, of which genus there
are about seventy-eight living species; this, as it is the most
rare, is also, perhaps, the most beautiful; it is found in the
seas of America, and is remarkable for the row of spines
on the hinder border of each valve; these vary much in size
and number, being in some individuals long and far apart,
in others, short, thick, and closely set. The colour of the
shell also varies considerably, being sometimes of a delicatt
rose colour; at others, more of a claret; at others again, bor-
dering on purple. It was for one of the first discovered
specimens of this shell, that £1000 is said to have been given.
Truly a Venus of value this; it ought to be called the Queen
of Cockles!
Ouz next example, (see Fig. 4,) 1s the Spotted Tridacna,
(T. maculatus,) the latter term signifying spotted. In the
Chamide or Clam family, is placed the Ziridacna genus, the
discovered species of which are not numerous; they are chiefly
found in the Indian seas. The one above mentioned claims |
pre-eminence for beauty. We cannot quite see the applica-
bility of the generic name; 7ridacnus, in Latin, signifies to
be eaten at three bites, but he must be a man of large
capacity indeed who could so devour the head of this family,
the Giant Tradacna, (7. gigas,) a single specimen of which
has been known to weigh as much as five hundred and seventy
pounds; from three to four hundred is by no means an un-
common size. The shell of this giant mollusk is of a very
picturesque shape, something like its spotted congener, as we
56 MUSSEL AND COCKLE.
call anything of the same kind or genus, only it is some-
what plainer, and more deeply ribbed and indented. The
inside is of a glossy whiteness, and it is frequently used as
a basin for garden fountains, or the reception of rills or
little jets of water, which sparkle in its stainless hollow.
In the ehurch of St. Salpice, at Paris, is a shell of this im-
mense Clam, the valves of which are used as receptacles for
holy water; it was presented to Francis the First, by the
republic of Venice. Fancy the clapping to of such a pair of
valves, when the animal closes its shell in alarm, and the
strength of the cable required to moor it to the rocks or
coral reef. The spotted species here figured has a solid and
heavy shell, very elegantly shaped, and beautifully marked,
as will be seen; the greatly reduced size of the figure pre-
vents anything like justice being done to the original.
The above is a figure of the Heart Isocardea, (Z. cor,) which
is also a member of the Clam family, and one of the most
elegantly-shaped shells in the whole range of Conchology. It
is a native of the Mediterranean and other seas of Europe,
and has been taken in deep water on the West coast of
Treland. We complete this group with a representation of
the curious Areade family, or Ark shells, as they are com-
monly called, because one of the species was thought to
resemble the ark built by Noah. Mr. Swainson tells us that the
animals of these shells affix thcmselves to other bodies by a
SCALLOP SHELLS. |
particular muscle, which is protruded through the gaping part
of the valves; they also adhere, when young, by means of
the bissiform epidermis, or bissus-hke outer skin: this species
is a native of the Atlantic Ocean and the seas of Europe.
The Antique Ark, (4. antiqua,) is very like the Common
Cockle, being of a white colour, and heart-shaped. We give
below a representation of this shell, and also of the shell of
the pretty little Pearly Trigonia, (Z. margaritacea,) included in
the Arcade family; this is a rare species, found only in the
seas of New Holland.
SCALLOP SHELLS.
SEVERAL species of Scallop Shells are found scattered about
on our shores; they belong, as before stated, to the family
Pectinide, the meaning of which term has been already
explained. These shells were called by Cuvier “the Butter-
flies of the Ocean,” on account of the various and beautiful
colours which they exhibit. Some of them are exceedingly
thin, and brittle as glass; one species found in the Arctic
regions, is as transparent as that substance, and is therefore
called P. vitreus, from the Latin for glass, which is vitreum.
One of the commonest of our native Scallops is the St. James’
Cockle, (P. Jacobeus;) this shell is found in great plenty along
our southern coasts; it is often referred to by old writers,
on account of having been commonly worn in the hats of
pilgrims to Palestine, or the Holy Land, as the scene of
our Saviour’s life and death was called. Sir Walter Raleigh,
58 SCALLOP SHELLS.
in his poem called “The Pilgrimage,” thus enumerates the
different articles considered necessary for a Palmer, as these
pilgrims were termed:—
“Give me my scallop shell of quiet,
My staff of faith to lean upon,
My serip of joy, (immortal diet,)
My bottle of salvation,
My gown of glory, hope’s true gage,
And thus I’ll make my pilgrimage.”
This Mollusk, it may be noticed, like many other bivalves,
has a flat, and a concave or hollow shell: in early times
when plates and drinking vessels were not so plentiful as
they are now, one of these served the former purpose, and
the other the latter; thus, in speaking of a feast, a Gaelic or
Scottish bard has said—
“The joy of the shell went round.”
Sometimes the species termed Pecten opercularis, was used as
the pilgrim’s badge; the specific name comes most likely from
the Latin operculum, whose meaning has been explained.
COMMON SCALLOP.
This too, is a common British shell, as is also the little
LIMPITS. 59
speckled Scallop, (P. varia,) which may be found on almost any
part of the coast where the water-line is margined with a
_ sandy ridge. The shells are generally about two inches long, of
various colours, clouded, speckled, and marked with about twelve
_vibs. There is a foreign species called the Flounder Scallop,
P. pleuronectes, which is remarkable for having the two valves
of the shell of different colours, the upper one being of a
rich reddish brown, and the lower one white: the specific
name has reference to this, being compounded of the Latin
pleura—something double, and necto—to join. The fish called
the Flounder, is brown above and white beneath, hence the
English name of this shell. The preceding engraving of the
Common Scallop, viewed from the front, shows the flat and
concave form of the two valves of this shell, and also the
depth of the indentations or ridges.
LIMPITS.
Amone the rocks of the British coast, there are no shells
more frequently met with than those of the Common Limpit,
Patella vulgata; they le scattered about like so many little
empty cups, each having, on the death of the mollusk, fallen
from the rocky cavity in which it was embedded, and which
was just large enough to contain it. Here the animal attaches
itself so firmly by its fibrous foot, which is hollow in the
centre, and acts like a sucker, that it is almost impossible to
loosen its hold otherwise than by inserting something thin,
like the blade of a knife between it and the stone. By
this power of adhesion, the Limpit is protected from the vio-
lence of the waves, and also from its numerous enemies,
aquatic birds and animals, which have a relish for its flesh.
Still vast numbers are used as food, both by man and the
inferior creatures, so that the means of defence furnished to
the Limpits of the rock, are not always sure. ‘The peasantry
of the western isles of Scotland,’ we are told by Miss Pratt,
“look to the Periwinkles and Limpits, which abound on the
rocks, for their daily meal, often for long seasons, subsisting
60 LIMPITS.
almost entirely upon this humble food. In the Isle of Syke,
the inhabitants are often, at one time of the year, without
any other source of provision.” Then comes the Sea-gull,
and the Duck, and the Pied Oyster-catcher, to feed on the
poor little mollusk, the bill of the latter bird being admirably
adapted for loosening its hold on the rock.
Patella in Latin signifies a salad-dish, a knee-pan, and
several other domestic utensils, of a broad shallow make,
and hence we find the plural form of the word applied to
the Limpit family, whose shells are of such a shape. Mem-
bers of this family are found on all rocky coasts, except those
of the Arctic seas; on Tropical rocks they grow to a_ large
size, and form a valuable article of food. A very curious
piece of mechanism is the tongue of the Common Limpit, it
is from two to three inches long, and has a spoon-like ex-
tremity, so that it looks, when extended from the mouth,
hke a small snake; if examined through a microscope, it is
seen to be armed throughout its whole extent with rows,
four deep, of sharp hooked teeth, and between each row are
placed two others, which have three points, and are set
in a slanting position; the use of this arrangement we cannot
at present determine, but no doubt it has a perfect adaptation
to the wants of the animal.
There are shell-fish called Key-hole Limpits, which belong
to the genus Jissurellide, from fissura—a cleft or slip, from
whence comes also fissure. All the members of this genus
are distinguished by the aperture at the top of the shell,
shaped like a key-hole, which is situated exactly over the
breathing organs, and serves as a channel for the water
necessary for respiration.
Frequently upon the fronds of the large olive sea-weeds may
be found a tiny shell shaped something like that of the Com-
mon Limpit; it is of an olive green colour, with blue streaks,
and is called, from its clearness, the Pellucid Limpit, P. pellucida.
There is also another much like it in appearance, which natu-
ralists call P. levis. To the labours of these little mollusks,
according to Dr. Harvey, may be partly attributed the de-
struction of the gigantic Alge, (sea-weed.) Eating into the
lower part of the stems, and destroying the branches of the
roots, they so far weaken the base, that it becomes unable
ROCK-BORERS. 61
to support the weight of the frond; and thus the plant is
detached and driven on shore by the waves.
And so the forest tall that groweth,
Underneath the waters clear,
Does the little woodman mollusk,
Level every .year;
From small causes, great results—
Teaching you to persevere.”
ROCK-BORERS.
Tue family Pholade comprises a group of mollusks, the
boring habits of which have long been known; they penetrate
wood, hard clay, chalk, and rocks, and devastate the labours
of man; they attack the hulls of ships, the piles which form
the foundations of piers and break-waters, and they force them-
selves upon our attention by the loss of property, as well as
of life, which results from their hidden depredations. Of
this family, those belonging to the genus Pholus may be more
especially likened to the Kdomites of Scripture, because they
take up their abode in the rock, and hollow out for themselves
dwellings therein. With a shell as thin as paper, and brittie
as glass, the wonder is how these Rock-borers work their
way into and through hard stones. Some naturalists assert
that they effect this by means of an acid which decomposes
the substance of the rock, and renders it soft; others, that
the animal keeps turning round and round lke an instrument
called an auger, and so gradually rasps away the surface of
the stone with the angles of its shell, but we question whether
the shell would not be worn out first in such a_ process.
The generic name of these ‘‘stone-piercers,” comes from the
Greek word Pholeo—to hide, and the rocky chambers which
they hollow out for themselves, are as snug hiding-places as
can well be imagined; yet, however deep they may go into these
gloorny caverns, as we should be apt to suppose them, they
need not be in darkness, for it appears that these Pholades
emit a most remarkable light, whether phosphorescent or not
does not appear to be determined; so strong is it, that it 1s
62 ROCK-BORERS.
said to illuminate the mouth of the person who eats the
mollusk; and it is remarked by Dr. Priestly, that ‘‘contra
to the nature of most fish, which give light when they tend
to putrescence, this is more luminous the fresher it is, and
when dried its light will revive on being moistened with
water.”’ So that in more respects than one these rock-borers
are mysteries. ‘The most common of them, perhaps, is the
Prickly Pidduck, or Peckstone, (P. dactylus,) which is much
used by the fishermen of our coasts as bait; the specific name
is the Latin for a fruit shaped like a finger, which is some-
thing like the shape of this mollusk, as will be seen by the
annexed engraving.
The genus Pholus is very widely distributed, and all the
species have the same boring habits as those of our own
coast, which we need not enumerate. Like them too in
this respect are the marine worms called Zeredo, which make
their way into the bottoms of ships, and all submerged tim-
ber, but these will be more fully spoken of in another volume.
The above figure exhibits the Pholas dactylus as it appears
in a section of rock, split open for the purpose of seeing the
shelly miner at his work,
65
MULTIVALVES.
We have insensibly passed from the Bivalve shells to those
composed of several pieces, and therefore called Multivalves;
properly, perhaps, the Rock-borers, last described, come into
this division, for although their covering consists mainly of
two principal portions or valves, yet there are often additional
parts; in some a calcarious tube envelopes the whole mollusk,
leaving only an opening behind; this is more especially the
case with those which most resemble worms, such as the
genera Teredina and Teredo, included by Lamarck in the family
which he calls Tubulide.
The first group of multivalves we shall have to notice, are
THE CHITONS,
forming the family Chitonide. The term has a Greek deriva-
tion, and means a coat of mail. ‘These mollusks are covered
by a shell formed of eight distinct portions, arranged along
the back in a single row, and attached to a mantle which
resembles leather, being very tough and wrinkled; the edges
of this mantle extend beyond the borders of the plates, which
overlap each other, so as to constitute a kind of armour, very
different from the conical shell of the Limpit, or the turbinated,
that is twisted, case of some of the Borers. The coverings
of the Chitons are variously marked, so that each distinct
species is known by its peculiar pattern, as a knight of old
by the quarterings of his shield. All the mantles, however,
have scaly, hairy, or spiny margins. In this coat of mail, the
animal can roll itself up like an armadillo, and so be tolerably
secure from its enemies; it has an oval foot, the sides of
which are covered with small leaflets, and by means of this
it can attach itself to rocks, like the Limpit, or travel about
in search of adventures. It has no distinct head, therefore it
is acephalous; nor any perceptible eyes. The mouth is fur-
nished with a long tongue, curled up spirally, hke a watch-
spring, and armed with horny teeth.
The members of the Chiton family are numerous, being
64 BARNACLES.
*
found on most rocky shores; they attain the largest size in
the hottest climates, having never been found very far north.
The British species are small, and not more than two or three
in number; they may be found adhering
to stones near low-water mark. We give
a figure of one of these called the Tufted
Chiton, (C. fascicularis;) this word is from
the Latin fascteulus—a little bundle of
leaves or flowers, and it refers to the
hairy tufts that edge the mantle of this marine slug.
BARNACLES,
Or, as they are sometimes called, Bernicles, belong to what
naturalists term the class Cirrhopoda, sometimes spelled cirri-
peda, which appears to be derived from the Latin cirrus—a
tuft or lock of hair curled, and pede—a foot; hence the term
may be translated hairy-footed. Such of our readers as have
seen the Common or Duck Barnacle, (Pentalasmis anatifera, )
will at once understand the applicability of this term. Many
a piece of drift wood comes to land literally covered with
long fleshy stalks, generally of a purplish red colour, twisting
and curling in all directions, and terminating in delicate
porcelain-like shells, clear and brittle, of a white colour, just
tinged with blue, from between which project the many-
jointed ecrrhi, or hair-like tentacles, which serve the purpose
of a casting net, to seize and drag to the mouth of the
animal, its prey, which consists of small mollusks and crustacea.
This is the Barnacle about which such strange stories are
told by old writers, who affirmed that the Barnacle or Brent
Goose, that in winter visits our shores, is produced from these
fleshy foot-stalks and hairy shells by a natural process of
growth, or, as some philosophers of our day would say, of
development. Gerard, who, in 1597, wrote a ‘Historie of
Plants,’ describes the process by which the fish is transformed
into the bird; telling his readers that as ‘“‘the shells gape,
the legs hang out, that the bird growing bigger and bigger
BARNACLES. 65
the shells open more and more, till at length it is attached
only by the bill, soon after which it drops into the sea;
there it acquires feathers, and grows toa fowle.” There is an
amusing illustration given in Gerard’s book, where the young
Geese are represented hanging on the branches of trees, just
ready to drop into the water, where a number of those that
have previously fallen, like ripe fruit, and attained their full
plumage, are sailing about very contentedly. It was part of
this theory that the Barnacles were of vegetable origin, they
grew upon trees, or sprung out of the ground like mushrooms;
so we find in the works of an old poet named Du Bartas,
these lines:—
‘So slow Bootes underneath him sees
In the icy islands goslings hatched of trees,
Whose fruitful leaves, falling into the water,
Are turned, as known, to living fowls soon after;
So rotten planks of broken ships do change
To Barnaeles. O transformation strange!
’T was first a green tree, then a broken hull,
Lately a mushroom, now a flying Gull.”
The investigations of modern science have quite exploded
this foolish notion; we now know exactly what transformations
the Barnacle undergoes; strange enough some of them are,
but it does not change into a Goose, although its specific
name has reference to that bird, being derived from anas, the
Latin for Goose.
The shell of the Barnacle is composed of five pieces joined
together by membranes; four pieces are lateral, that is to say,
they form the sides, the word comes from the Latin latus—
a side; the other is a single narrow slip, which fills what
would otherwise be an open space down the back between the
valves; these parts of the shell appear to be somewhat loosely
connected, so as to allow free action to the animal lodged
within, which is enclosed in a fine skin or mantle. The mouth
is placed at the lower part, near the opening, whence the
ewrrhi issue forth; this mouth is a curious piece of mechanism,
being furnished with a horny lip covered with minute palpi,
or feelers; there are three pairs of mandibles, that is Jaws, the
two outer ones being horny and serrated, that is jagged or
toothed like a saw; the inner one is soft and membranous,
E
66 BARNACLES.
that is, composed of little fibres, like strings, crossing each
other, as we see what are called the veins in a leaf.
Much more might be said about the internal structure of
the Cirrhopods, or Lalani, as the Barnacle group is sometimes
called, from the Latin Balanus—a kind of acorn. By some
naturalists, the term is not applied to the stalked Cirr/ipoda,
like that we have been describing, but only to the sessz/e kinds,
that is, those which set close or grow low; from the same
Latin root comes the English word sesston—a settling. The
coverings of these Dwarf Barnacles are sometimes called acorn
shells; they are commonly white, of an irregular cone shape,
composed of several ribbed pieces, closely fitted together with
au opening at the top, closed by an operculum, or stopper.
These shells cover in patehes the surface of exposed rocks,
drift wood, and any other substance. Some of the mollusks
affix themselves to the bodies of Whales, others form a lodg-
ment in the hollows of corals and sponges. Once fixed they
remain so during life, taking their chance of such suitable
food as may come within their limited sphere of action. At
an earlier stage of their existence, both their shape and habits
are very different, being lively little creatures, swimming about
hither and thither hke water-fleas. They are about the tenth
of an inch long, and of most grotesque appearance, having
six jointed legs set with hairs, the whole being so arranged
that they act in concert, and striking or flapping the water,
send the little body along in a series of bounds; then the
creature has two long arms, each furnished with hooks and a
sucker, and a tail tipped with bristles, which is usually folded
up under the body; its pair of large staring eyes are peduncu-
lated, that is, set upon foot-stalks; it has a house on its back,
like a bivalve shell, into which it can collect its scattered
members when occasion requires. When of sufficient age to
settle itself in life, and become a staid member of submarine
society, it fixes itself to some convenient object, throws away
its eyes as no longer useful, gets rid of its preposterous limbs,
enlarges its house, and sits down to fishing in a small way
for an honest and respectable livelihood.
A piece of timber covered with Stalked Barnacles, wriggling
and twisting about like so many helmeted snakes, and waving
their plume-like cirrhz, is a very curious sight. They some-
CUTTLE FISH. 67
times attach themselves to ships’ bottoms in such numbers as
to retard their progress through the water; they do not, however,
bore into and destroy the timber, like the TZeredines, or ship
worms, to which we have alluded in our brief notice of the
Pholade. The growth of Barnacles must be very rapid, as a
ship perfectly free from them, will often return after a short
voyage, with her bottom below the water line completely
covered.
We give a representation of a group of these stalked mol-
lusks, as they appear affixed to a piece of timber. This is the
Common, or Duck Barnacle.
CUTTLE. FISH.
StrancE and monstrous as are the forms of many of the
creatures that inhabit the deep, there are perhaps none more
so than those belonging to that dwiae of the class Cephalopoda,
68 CUTTLE FISH.
called Sepia or Cuttle-fish. But before we go any further,
let us enquire what is meant by a Cephalopod. Our readers
have already learned that Gasteropod means stomach and foot,
and that acephalous means headless; now here we have a word
which takes a portion of each of the others, cephal—head,
and peda, or poda—a foot, consequently ceph-a-lo-po-da, is a
class of molluscous animals which have their feet, or organs
of motion, arranged around the head, something, you may
suppose, like that celebrated hero of nursery rhymes,
“Tom Toddy, all head and no body.”
Only our bag-shaped Mr. Sepia, with his great round staring
eyes, and numerous legs or arms, whichever you please to call
them, all twisting and twining about like so many serpents,
is a much more formidable looking individual. A _ strange
fellow is this altogether; he has a shell, but he does not use
it for a covering, he carries it inside of him, and it serves
the purpose ofa sort of back-bone; it is horny and calcarious,
hght and porous, as our readers well know, having most
likely often used it to take out unsightly blots, or erase mis-
takes in their copy or cyphering books.
When Mr. Sepia walks abroad, he sticks his little round
body upright, so that his eyes and mouth, which is armed
with a parrot-lke beak, are brought close to the surface over
which he passes, while his long twining legs go sprawling
about in all directions; on the insides of these legs, are a
great number of small circular suckers, by means of which
the animal can fix itself to any object so tightly that it is
almost impossible to detach it without tearing off part of the
limb. Woe be to the poor unfortunate fish that chances to
come in its way; the snaky arms are thrown around it, and
made fast, and away goes the cephalopod for a ride, eating
on the road to lose no time, on the finny steed that carries
it. In some species each of the suckers has a hook in the
centre, which of course renders the hold yet firmer, and no
doubt adds to the disagreeable sensation which their tight com-
pression must cause; it is likely that these hooks are intended
to retain the hold of soft and slippery prey, which might
otherwise be too agile fa th ‘nely customer,” that would
CUITLE FISH. 69
affectionately embrace it. But Mr. Sepia, though well armed
in front, is rather open to attacks in the rear of his soft
naked body; to provide for such an emergency, he is furnished
-with a little bag of inky fluid, which he squirts out in the
face of his pursuer, and escapes under cover of the cloud; this
is the substance used by painters, and called sepia, whence the
generic name of the mollusks which produce it.
In the British seas none of these cephalopods attain so
large a size as to be formidable to man, as they do in warmer
climates. It was asserted by Dens, an old navigator, that in
the African seas, while three of his men were employed du-
ring a calm in scraping the sides of the vessel, they were
attacked by a monstrous Cuttle-fish, which seized them in its
arms, and drew two of them under water, the third man was
with difficulty rescued by cutting off one of the creature’s
limbs, which was as thick at the base as the fore-yard of
the ship, and had suckers as large as ladles; the rescued sailor
was so horrified by the monster, that he died delirious a few
hours after. An account is also given of another crew who
were similarly attacked off the coast of Angola; the crea-
ture threw its arms across the vessel, and had nearly succeeded
“In dragging it down, and was only prevented doing so by
the severing of its limbs with swords and hatehets. <A dili-
gent observer of nature has asserted that in the Indian scas
Cuttle-fish are often seen two fathoms broad across the centre,
with arms nine fathoms long. Only think, what a monster!
with a body twelve feet across, and eight or ten legs like
water-snakes, some six and thirty feet long. Well may it be
said, that the Indians when they go out in boats are in dread
of such, and never sail without an axe for their protection.
There is a story told by a gentleman named Beale, who,
while searching for shells upon the rdcks of the Bonin Islands,
encountered a species of Cuttle-fish called by the whalers
“the Rock-squid,” and rashly endeavoured to secure it. This
cephalopod, whose body was not bigger than a large clenched
hand, had tentacles at least four feet across, and having its re-
treat to the sea cut off by Mr. Beale, twined its limbs around
that gentleman’s arm, which was bared to the shoulder for
the purpose of thrusting into Ba the rocks after shells,
and endeavoured to get its horny beak in a position for biting.
70 CUTTLE FISH.
The narrator describes the sickening sensation of horror which
chilled his very blood, as he felt the creature’s cold slimy
grasp, and saw its large staring eyes fixed on him, and the
beak opening and closing. He called loudly for help, and was
soon joined by his companion, who relieved him by destroying
the Cuttle-fish with a knife, and detaching the limbs piece
by piece.
There are several species of these cephalopods; the most
generally distributed appears to be the Octopus vulgaris, or
Common Cuttle-fish, which is sometimes found on our own
shores, where also may be obtained the Common Sepiola, S.
vulgaris, usually about three inches long, and the Officinal
Cuttle-fish, S. Offcinalis, which is about a foot in length; we
give below small figures of each of these three species, to show
the difference in the shape: the two last, it will be observed,
have, in addition to the eight tentacles, which give the generic
name Octopus, signifying eight, two long side arms, the use
of which does not appear to be very clearly determined.
0, VULGARIS, 5. VULGARIS, S. OFFICINALIS.
71
NAUTILUS AND AMMONITE.
Tue Nautili are called testaceous cephalopods, our readers
know, or ought to know, the meaning of both these terms.
Like the Cuttle-fish they are sometimes called Polypi, because
they have many arms or tentacles, the word poly, with which
a great number of English words commence, being the Greek
for many. An ancient writer named Aristotle, after describing
the naked cephalopods, says ‘There are also two polypi in
shells; one is called by some, nautilus, and by others, nauwticus.
It is like the polypus, but its shell resembles a hollow comb
or pecten, and is not attached. This polypus ordinarily feeds
near the sea-shore; sometimes it is thrown by the waves on
the dry land, and the shell falling from it, is canght, and
there dies. The other is in a shell lke a snail, and this does
not go out of its shell, but remains in it like a snail, and
sometimes stretches forth its cirri.” The first of these ani-
mals, there can be no doubt, is the Argonaut, or Paper
Nautilus, and the latter that which is called the True Nautilus,
of both of which species let us say a few words, which we
will introduce by quoting some beautiful lines from a poem
ealled “‘the Pelican Island,’ by James Montgomery.
‘Light as a flake of foam upon the wind,
Keel upwards from the deep, emerged a shell,
Shaped like the moon ere half her orb is filled:
Fraught with young life it righted as it rose,
And moved at will along the yielding water.
The native pilot of this little bark
Put out a tier of oars on either side;
Spread to the wafting breeze a two-fold sail,
And mourted up and glided down the billow,
In happy freedom, pleased to feel the air,
And wander in the luxury of light.”’
The tiny mariner here alluded to, is the Paper Nautilus,
common in the Mediterranean and some tropical seas; its sci-
entific name is Argonauta argo. In the mythology, we read
that Argo was the name of a ship that carried a certain Gre-
cian named Jason, and a crew of .argives in search of adventures;
some say that the term is derived from a Greek word signifying
swift: this party of mariners, ar be the first that ever
72 NAUTILUS AND AMMONITE.
sailed upon the sea, was called Argonauts, or, as it might be
freely translated, seamen of the ship Argo. Vauticus, in Latin,
signifies anything relating to ships or navigation, and here you
have the whole origin of the name of this little Argonaut,
about which we must sing you a song written by Mary Howitt,
before we proceed further:—
‘“‘Who was the first sailor; tell me who can;
Old father Neptune ?—no, you’re wrong,
There was another ere Neptune began;
Who was he? tell me. Tightly and strong,
Over the waters he went—he went,
Over the waters he went!
Who was the first sailor? tell me who can;
Old father Noah?—no, you’re wrong, ,
There was another ere Noah began,
Who was he? tell me. Tightly and strong,
Over the waters he went—he went,
Over the waters he went.
Who was the first sailor? tell me who can;
Old father Jason?—no, you’re wrong,
There was another ere Jason began,
Do’nt be a blockhead, boy! ‘Tightly and strong,
Over the waters he went—he went,
Over the waters he went.
Ha! ’tis nought but the poor little Nautilus—
Sailing away in his pearly shell;
He has no need of a compass like us,
Foul or fair weather he manages well!
Over the water he goes—he goes,
Over the water he goes!”
Many more poems of the like nature we might quote, for
this little shelled cephalopod has been a favourite with the
poets time out of mind, and in some instances they and the
less imaginative naturalists have disagreed in their accounts of
its form and operations, for instance, Pope says—
“Tearn of the little Nautilus to sail,
Spread the thin oar and catch the driving gale.”
“Catch a fiddle-stick,” say some naturalists, the little Nau-
tilus does nothing of the sort; and if you go to him to learn
navigation, you will never be much of a sailor; he may teach
you how to sink to the i and rise again, and that kind
NAUTILUS AND AMMONITE. vis;
of knowledge might be worth something to you if you could
breathe under water; and he may teach you how to swim,
but not how to sail, for in spite of all poetic theories, he
does the former and not the latter. Most usually he walks
about at the bottom of the sea on his long arms, something
like the Cuttle-fish, feeding on the marine vegetation; the
shell is then uppermost; if we could look inside of it we should
see numerous little chambers or cells, the larger and outermost
of which only are inhabited by the mollusk, the others being
filled with air render the whole light and buoyant. Through
the centre of these chambers, down to the smallest of them,
runs a membranous tube which can be exhausted or filled
with fluid at the pleasure of the animal, and the difference
thus effected in the weight of the shell enables it to sink
or swim; in the latter case, up it goes to the surface, and
‘keel upwards from the deep,’ emerges, as the poet has said,
but once there it soon reverses its position. The shell becomes
hke a boat it is true, but its inhabitant neither points a sail
nor plies the oar, but propels itself along stem foremost by
a muscular action, which by alternately compressing and
loosening a kind of siphon, throws out jets or gushes
of water, which by the resistance they meet with from the
surrounding fluid, give the desired onward motion, and away
the swimmer goes, his long arms gathered closely together,
and streaming behind Like the tail of a comet, and its round
eyes keeping a sharp look out on either side. Should it espy
danger, the body and limbs are withdrawn into the shell, and
the fluid driven through the central tube, so as to compress
the air in the pearly cells, and down sinks the swimmer once
again to his native depths, where
‘‘The floor is of sand like the mountain drift,
And the pearl shells’ spangle the flinty snow;
And from coral rocks the sea-plants lift
Their boughs where the tides and billows flow,
The water is calm and still below.
For the winds and waves are absent there;
And the sands are bright as the stars that glow
In the motionless fields of upper air.
And life in rare and beautiful forms,
Is sporting amid those bowers of stone,
And is safe, when the wrathful spirit of storms,
Has made the top of the waves his own.”
74 NAUTILUS AND AMMONITE.
We give below two figures of the Argonaut, one of which
represents him crawling at the bottom of the sea, and the
other swimming on the surface.
The True, or Pearly Nautilus, (V. Pompilius,) the origin of
whose specific name we have been unable to discover, is much
like the Argonaut in appearance and general construction; the
shell is externally smoother and more iridescent; it is also
generally somewhat thicker than the former kind, and has in-
ternally more chambers or divisions; its pearly lustre renders
it a beautiful ornament, and the large size it frequently attains
a very conspicuous one. Its inhabitant has several peculiarities
of organization, which distinguish it from the Argonauts, but
into these we need not enter; neither can we pause to des-
cribe the other species of nautili, the shells of which, like
those of the Cowry and other univalves, are covered with a
membrane, which hides their beauty. This membrane or mantle
sometimes extends some distance beyond the edge of the shell,
and, being of a light and filmy appearance, may have been
mistaken for a sail hoisted by the creature to catch the breeze,
while its long arms, thrust up into the air or down into the
water, may have been thought to be masts or oars, so that
the poets are not so much to be blamed, if they say as
Wordsworth does.
‘Spread, tiny Nautilus, the living sail,
Dive at thy choice, or catch the freshening gale.”’
Nearly allied to the Nautili are these beautiful fossil shells
called Ammonites, from their fancied resemblance to the horns
of a heathen deity or god, called Jupiter Ammon. ‘These
shells, at once the wonder and pride of geologists, are found
in the chalk formations, and thousands of years must have
passed away since they were inhabited by living creatures.
NAUTILUS AND AMMONITE. Fis.
The Nautili which swam and sported with them at the depths
of the ocean, as is proved by the shells of many species found
in the same chalky deposits, have still their living represen-
tatives, but those winding galleries and pearly chambers once
fragile as paper and brittle as glass, now turned into, and
surrounded by solid stone, are all shells of extinct species,
and we can hardly see and handle them without some degree
of awe and reverence; when we reflect on the great and
wonderful changes that have passed over the earth since
they were formed by a hand divine, instinct with the breath
of life, and then to be embedded in the rock as everlasting
characters by which the unborn generations of men might read
in history of those changes, and of the providential dealings
of God with his creatures. Of these Ammonites, and other
fossil shells, much more will have to be said in our pro-
posed geological volume; the poem which follows will very
appropriately conclude the above remarks, and our present
little work on shells—beautiful, wonderful shells! useful, orna-
mental, instructive! The subject is one which we would earnestly
invite our young readers to study: it is here but introduced;
we have picked up a few, very few, of the wonders and
beauties of conchology, and presented them to their notice in
the hope that they may be induced to desire a more intimate
acquaintance with this branch of natural science, which has
been hitherto greatly neglected. To understand it thoroughly,
much attention and perseverence will be required, but even a
slight acquaintance with it will yield both pleasure and profit
to the mind. .
NAUTILUS. AMMONITE,
76
THE NAUTILUS AND THE AMMONITE.
The Nautilus and the Ammonite,
Were launched in storm and strife;
Each sent to float in its tiny boat,
On the wide, wild sea of life.
And each could swim on the ocean’s brim,
And anon, its sails could furl,
And sink to —- in the great sea deep,
In a palace all of pearl.
And their’s was a bliss more fair than this,
That we feel in our colder time;
For they were rife in a tropic life,
In a brighter, happier clime.
They swam ’mid isles whose summer smiles
No wintry winds annoy;
Whose groves were palm, whose air was balm,
Whose life was only joy.
They roam’d all day through creek and bay,
And travers’d the ccmnideng
And at night they sank on a coral bank,
In its fairy bowers to sleep.
And the monsters vast of ages past,
They beheld in_their ocean caves;
And saw them ride in their power and pride,
And sink in their billowy graves.
Thus hand in hand, from strand to strand,
They sail’d in mirth and glee;
Those fairy shells, with their crystal cells,
Twin creatures of the sea.
y But they came at last to a sea long past,
And as they reach’d its shore,
The Almighty’s breath spake out in death,
And the Ammonite liv’d no more.
And the Nautilus now in its shelly prow,
As o’er the deep it strays,
Still seems to seek in bay and creek,
Its companion of other days.
And thus do we, in life’s stormy sea,
As we roam from shore to shore;
While tempest-tost, seek the lov’d—the lost,
But find them on earth no more!
G. F, RicHAaRpDson..
PEN DE x.
INTRODUCTION.
What are Shells .
Conchology
Beauty and Value of Shells
Uses of Shells .
The Inhabitants of Shells 4
Malacology bs
Classification of Shells .
Taking and Preserving Shells
The Cabinet
On Cleaning and Polishing Shells
Fossil Shells
Ae i a yy i
The Common Snail
Fresh-water Shells
The Whelk
Rock Shells
Periwinkle
Trochus, or Top-Shell
Cones, Volutes, Mitres, and Olives .
Cowries
78 INDEX.
BIVALVES.
The Oyster
Pearls ; : ;
The Mussel and the Cockle
Scallop Shells
Limpits
Rock-borers .
MULTIVALYVES.
The Chitons
Barnacles
Cuttle Fish
Nautilus and Ammonite
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